“A fairly high probability”, this threat which hangs over the event, according to researchers

Only six months until the Paris Olympic Games! The sporting competition will in fact be held in the French capital between July 26 and August 11, 2024. And while preparations continue in the city, researchers have just drawn attention to a threat that could disrupt and even spoil the event. This is a new heatwave episode… which could be worse than the one we experienced in 2003 and which was one of the most significant in recent years.

In the magazine NPJ Climate and Atmospheric Scienceresearchers have just published a report which already provides for “temperatures which exceed the 2003 record by around 4°C. If the organizers of the Olympic Games claim to have considered this possible heat wave, researchers seem much more worried. “Tens of thousands of visitors from around the world are expected […] are exposed to potential thermal stress” can we read.

Paris 2024: a heatwave worse than that of 2003 during the Olympic Games?

While some summers in recent years have experienced heat waves, The summer of 2003 remains one of the most significant in the country’s history, with nearly 15,000 people (especially elderly people) dying due to high temperatures. During this period that many remember, temperatures exceeded 35°C for nine days in a row.

“In 20 years, the climate has changed and the idea was to alert public authorities that something significantly worse than 2003 could happen, that it is possible”underlines to AFP Pascal Yiou, main author of the report and researcher at the Climate and Environmental Sciences Laboratory (LSCE).

So, “specific measures” have been planned if the weather becomes unbearable for the athletes. Depending on the disciplines, arrangements will for example be possible for indoor events (air conditioning or installation of sails, for example). On the other hand, those outdoors, such as races and marathons, may need to be “reprogrammed”.

We take note that this already happened during the Tokyo Olympics in 1952the hottest games ever recorded with an average temperature higher than that of Paris in 2003. Enough to lead to the advancement of the women’s marathon because of the extreme heat.