Too Hot for Sports?

For some people, winter means enjoying sports like skiing and snowboarding. But as climate change raises the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere, some of these sports could melt away.

“We know the world is warming up,” says climatologist Borja Reguero from the University of California, Santa Cruz. “And now, we are starting to see the consequences.”

In recent years, winter snowfalls have arrived weeks later than usual. That has forced some ski resorts to delay opening for the season. Winter sports aren't the only ones affected. Athletes in sports like tennis and football are struggling too. They have to cope with more long periods of hot weather, called heat waves. Experts predict that the effects of climate change will only continue to get more extreme in the future.

Ski resorts can’t open until the temperature drops below 32ºF. That’s the freezing point of water. It has to be at least that cold for ice crystals to form in a cloud and stay frozen as they fall to Earth.

To make up for warm winters, resorts try using snow-making machines. But these machines work best when temperatures are about 28ºF (even lower than water’s freezing point). Plus, they’re very costly to run.

Kelly McCusker is a climatologist at a research organization called the Rhodium Group based in New York City. She wanted to find out how climate change might affect ski seasons in the future. She counted the number of days with below-freezing temperatures at ski resorts across the U.S. from 1981 to 2010. Then she calculated the number of snowy days that would likely occur if the planet’s warming trend continues.

Areas that already have mild winters will be affected the most, says McCusker. For instance, the Lake Tahoe, California, ski region currently has only 41 days a year with temperatures that drop below freezing. In the future, that number could fall to just eight days, says McCusker.

Summer sports are feeling the heat, too. Heat waves are occurring more often across the U.S. During the 1960s, most areas had an average of two heat waves per year. During the 2010s, that number jumped to more than six.

Extreme temperatures can lead to illnesses like heatstroke. This is a serious condition caused by the body overheating. Concerns about athletes’ health has led officials in different sports to make new rules.

Professional tennis players may now take more breaks during hot days. The 2020 Olympic marathons in Toyko, Japan, will start at 6 a.m., when it’s cooler. In Georgia, high schools are now required to provide a tub filled with ice for football players to dunk in.

In the future, any sport that is already impacted by high heat is going to face problems,” says Reguero. Unless people take steps like reducing the amount of fossil fuels we burn to slow climate change, it might be game over for some sports.