But even that is not always enough in a world where extreme weather is becoming more common. Imagine the 1996 Atlanta Olympic marathon being held in, say, Indianapolis, or 2024 host Paris sending the race up to Glasgow, Scotland. Officials moved the marathons and walking races to Sapporo, more than 500 miles north, where average temperatures in the summer are about six degrees cooler. And it’s definitely getting hotter: According to NASA, average temperatures in Japan’s capital city have gone up by 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit since 1964 - three times the global average.įor organizers of last year’s Olympics in the Japanese capital, that meant some logistical maneuvering was required. Daily high temperatures in August average in the high 80s and routinely soar well beyond that. (Mae Decena/Shea Lord) Timing - and location - is everything With an eye on timing, gameplay, performance and safety, Grid examined how climate change is reshaping our favorite warm-weather sports. Warm-weather pursuits - joining a rec soccer league, running a marathon or attending a Major League Baseball game - are also under threat to varying degrees. It’s not just winter sports like skiing and hockey at risk, although without snow or ice, many simply can’t be played. “It’s not ‘climate change is going to change the future of sports’ - that is true, but also climate change is actively altering the sport experience at all levels right now.” “Climate change today is altering sport as a whole,” said Jessica Murfree, a visiting assistant professor of health and kinesiology at Texas A&M University who researches the intersection of climate change, extreme weather and sports. For athletes used to their sport existing in a certain world, those differences can be disconcerting and potentially dangerous. But things will be different: different playing surfaces, different equipment, a different environment in general. The changes won’t be all bad - for example, it turns out baseballs travel farther in warmer, more humid air, so hitters might not complain (though pitchers can’t be thrilled). The shifts are happening at all levels of athletics - from recreational leagues and weekend warriors to the pros.
But many are happening now, changing the way sports are played, altering the timing of events and playing seasons and affecting athletes’ achievement and well-being.
Some are obvious, such as the threat extreme heat poses to both the performance and safety of athletes others are more subtle, like drought-induced dust hindering distance runners’ training. This is just a smattering of the ways the changing climate is affecting the world of sports.
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