The unseasonably high temperatures in Paris from July 26 to August 11 may have a negative impact on the performance and health of athletes.
According to data from the Copernicus Climate Change Service of the European Union (EU), May was recorded as the “12th hottest month in a row”.
While weather forecasts predicted the hottest summer ever in Europe this year, how these conditions would affect the Olympic Games to be held in Paris, the capital of France, came to the agenda.
Many countries in Europe are taking precautions against the above-average scorching heat, which is above seasonal norms.
Although it is not known for sure how it will be during the Olympic Games to be held in Paris on July 26-August 11, the French meteorological service Meteo France reported that there is a 70 percent probability that above-average temperatures will be effective in the summer.
In its report on June, July and August published in May, Meteo France predicted that the humidity in the summer season would be 25 percent above normal and 50 percent drier.
“A hotter than normal scenario for France is the most likely scenario,” the report said, adding that although the possibility of occasional regional and heavy rainfall is not ruled out, a drier and hotter summer is mostly expected.
On the other hand, it is evaluated that extreme heat in the country, which is preparing to host 10,500 athletes in 329 events at the Olympics this summer, may affect the health and performance of athletes.
Exercise in hot weather can cause heat stroke
In its recommendations for athletes, the French High Council for Public Health pointed out that physical exercise in hot weather can lead to fatal cases of heatstroke.
This risk is particularly high when the humidity is high and the wind is not blowing.
In a heat wave, even well-trained athletes are advised to reduce their physical and sports activities and avoid competitions, and in such a situation it is necessary to protect themselves from the heat, regularly splash water on their faces and necks and drink water throughout the exercise.
According to the advice on sports events on the website of the Ministry of Sports, when a red alert is issued in a province due to extreme heat, local authorities are required to make an assessment to postpone or temporarily cancel the sports event.
Local authorities are asked to make this assessment because the implementation of measures to mitigate the impact of heat waves has been insufficient.
Julien Piscione, Head of the Performance Support Department of the French Rugby Federation, suggested that athletes participating in the Olympics could prepare for hot weather conditions, according to a statement released on February 27 by the Pierre Simon Laplace Institute (IPSL), an organization of 9 laboratories conducting research in the field of climate science.
Noting that the National Rugby Center in the French town of Marcoussis has an environmental room where athletes can train in simulated weather conditions such as temperature and humidity, Piscione said that initially the Rugby Federation used this practice in preparation for matches in countries warmer than France to acclimatize players to the climate there.
Extreme heat can put athletes at risk
In the report titled “Rings of Fire 2: Extreme Heat at the Paris Olympics” published by the British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS), the risks that hot weather can pose to athletes were included.
In the report, which warned about discomforts such as cramps, heatstroke and fainting due to extreme heat, Olympic athletes also expressed their concerns on this issue.
British swimmer Hector Pardoe, who competed at the Tokyo Olympics, said he suffered from severe heatstroke at the 2022 World Championships in Budapest.
Describing it as “one of the worst experiences I have ever had”, Pardoe said, “I was almost paralyzed, unable to speak or move. I had a very severe migraine. I experienced vomiting, blurred vision and muscle fatigue.”
Extreme heat also negatively affected the Olympics held in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, in 2021.
Extreme heat claimed more than 5,000 lives in France in 2023
According to data published by the Public Health Agency on February 8, France experienced 4 extreme heat waves in 2023.
More than 5 thousand French people died due to extreme heat during the summer of 2023.
According to Meteo France’s Summer 2023 Climate Assessment report covering June 1-August 31, last year’s summer period in the country was recorded as “the 4th hottest summer since 1900”.
In 14 percent of France’s territory, temperatures rose above 40 degrees Celsius last summer, with thermometers showing 43.2 degrees in the southern city of Carcassonne.
