New Olympic Record: Fastest Heatstroke
Like clockwork, another heatwave is sweeping its way through Paris, just in time to coincide with the Summer Olympics. Now, as the mercury soars, we take a look at how organisers sought to mitigate the worst effects of the heat and determine whether there is more they could have done to beat the heat.
At the end of last week, the 30th Summer Olympic Games kicked off in the French capital with a viewership of, it is estimated, over 29 million people. Featuring fireworks, Celine Dion, and a somewhat controversial depiction of pagan gods, the opening ceremony saw jubilant crowds celebrating the best of what French culture has to offer. However, it is likely that, as the last pole-vaulting Minion exited stage left, some in the crowd were more trepidatious about what the Games had in store.
The threat? The weather.
As the Games launched on Friday, celebrations were somewhat muted as the ceremony was subjected to a torrential downpour that lasted well into the next day, causing a number of events to be postponed, namely the skateboarding. Further, we have now heard reports that, owing to greater surface runoff, the amount of pollution in the River Seine - which organisers have battled with over the years, investing billions of euros in its cleanup - has, again, surged to unsafe levels, forcing the men’s triathlon to be delayed until conditions improve. Clearly, the Games have not got off to a fortuitous start.
And yet, it is widely predicted that the worst is yet to come. With weather forecasts predicting a short heatwave to pass through the city this week, it is a growing concern that extremes of heat - the effects of which are exacerbated in those performing strenuous activity - could derail the event, posing a serious threat to the health of athletes and attendees alike. The heat is predicted to peak on Tuesday 30 July, where temperatures are estimated to hit up to 37ºC.
However, it can hardly be said that this kind of occurrence would be unexpected, both with the Summer Olympics suffering more frequent incidences of extreme heat, along with the city of Paris more generally, in recent years. With that in mind, we ask what was done to prepare for this eventuality?
Rings of Fire
For many months now, organisers, athletes, and climate experts alike have been issuing warnings around the risk of extreme heat hitting the city during the Games. Earlier this year, recognising the growing incidence and severity of summer heatwaves, as well as their likely impacts on those participating in extreme sport, elite athletes - including 11 Olympians - joined forces with climate scientists and thermal physiologists to examine the threat heat poses for this year’s Games.
In the report that followed off the back of this research, Rings of Fire II, the authors issued a stark warning for the 2024 Games.
In the foreword from Lord Sebastian Coe, President of World Athletics, they warned that, with the UN predicting that 2024 will be the hottest year on record the world of sports will face unprecedented challenges. “The world of sport currently faces sobering challenges in a constantly changing landscape,” he said. “And one of the gravest of those challenges comes from ever-increasing temperatures.”
Throughout the report, the authors reference research they commissioned from Climate Central, a nonprofit news organisation that analyses and reports on climate science. In it, the researchers painted a picture of the evolving climate in and around Paris, highlighting in particular how, since the last time the country hosted the Games 100 years ago, the average temperature in Paris has risen by 3.1ºC. Furthermore, their data showed that the number of “scorching” days (days with temperatures >25ºC) have almost tripled in intensity since then, and the number of “sweltering” nights (nights that do not dip beneath 20ºC) have seen a 20-fold increase. It is evident that, not only are temperatures consistently higher nowadays than over 100 years ago, but that heat is much more persistent over the course of the day.
Extreme Heat Meets Extreme Sports
As each summer comes around and, with it, an increasing number of heatwaves, we as a people are seeing more and more infographics and Instagram posts about the dangers of swelteringly hot days and how to keep cool during. However, whilst most of us would recognise that these same effects would be exacerbated if we were to run a couple of miles, it seems apparent that the degree to which athletes and those participating in more strenuous sports are at risk.
Extreme heat and high humidity can impact anyone, no matter how healthy they are. The types of heat-related illness that can befall those subjected to high temperatures can vary greatly, both in quality and severity. For example, on the more mild end of spectrum we see dizziness, sweating, and muscle cramps, the latter of which can greatly impact athletes’ performance. At the more severe end, we start seeing fainting, convulsions, and finally heat stroke, a life-threatening condition that demands immediate medical attention.
Each of these conditions can set in when our core body temperature starts to increase from baseline, i.e. when we start producing or absorbing more heat than we can release through thermoregulation, for instance sweating. However, the likelihood of this occurring is magnified in those undertaking strenuous exercise, owing to the fact that our bodies produce anywhere between 15-20 times the amount of heat when exercising than when at rest.
Hence, during events like the Olympics with more than 10,000 elite athletes in attendance, it is paramount that organisers have sufficient medical staff on hand, alongside means to cool those overheating, should a period of high heat strike.
The Tokyo Precedent
The 30-something degree temperatures of this year’s Games are nothing new. In fact, the Paris Games are following hot on the heels of the last Olympics, belatedly held in Tokyo in 2021 following the Covid-19 pandemic, which broke the record for the hottest Olympic Games. Reaching a high of 34ºC and over 70% humidity, many competitors complained of overheating and exhaustion, with two tennis players retiring mid-match with heat-related illness, one of whom was taken off the pitch in a wheelchair. World-famous tennis player Daniil Medvedev needed two medical timeouts and, at one point, turned to the umpire and said: “I can finish the match, but I can die. If I die, are you going to be responsible?”
In the months following the Tokyo Games, academics from a number of universities across Japan sought to conduct research to quantify the effects of the extreme heat on athletes throughout the Games, following multiple reports of poor conditions. This retrospective study analysed records of heat-related illness from the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee.
What they found was that there were 136 incidents of heat-related illness throughout the Games, with 100 of these taking place at the Olympics and 36 at the Paralympics. In total, the greatest incidence was during high-intensity, long-duration sports such as marathon and track-and-field events, with some participants (4.0%) requiring a visit to an outside medical centre.
Of note, the authors remarked that the Tokyo 2020 Organising Committee recognised early that heat would be of great risk at the Games, and took all medical precautions to protect those suffering. In particular, they note that no athletes suffered hospitalisation due to the quick response of organisers, with the more severe cases of heat-related illness subjected to cold water immersion (CWI), which rapidly abated symptoms.
With this in mind, we wonder what precautions the French organisers took to prevent a repeat of 2021.
Going Green, At What Cost?
Looking at the measures the Paris Olympic Committee took to beat the heat, it is fair to say that they did their homework. Anticipating the potential for heatwaves at this year’s Games, the Committee collaborated with a number of different government agencies to ensure resilience in the face of extreme heat, keeping athletes and attendees safe.
For example, cooling measures include:
Providing free water points across all venues - in total, 480 water pints have been installed to keep members of the public hydrated.
Collaborating with local businesses in a scheme to enable the public to fill up their bottles.
Medical teams are available at each venue, to provide help and medical assistance should spectators suffer from heatstroke.
Some venues have installed shaded ‘spectator zones’, whilst others have ample tree cover to prevent overheating.
Passageways to each venue are protected from the Sun, and walking times have been minimised to reduce exposure.
Signposting directions to ‘cool islands’, including parks, gardens, and nearby cool rooms.
Delivering guidance via SMS to all ticket holders, providing reminders that they should keep cool and tips for doing so.
Furthermore, now that the heatwave is in full flow, an emergency contingency plan has been implemented by the Committee. These have included bringing out misters and hoses to cool down spectators, and increasing the volume and signposting of hydration stations.
However, ahead of the Games the Committee came under some scrutiny for their plans to keep the athletes cool, specifically within the Olympic Village. Here, where the athletes will be spending their time between events and sleeping, many complained that there is inadequate provision of cooling mechanisms to ensure that the residents are comfortable.
Ultimately, it comes down to the fact that the 2024 Games promised to be the ‘greenest’ so far. With a promise to minimise the overall carbon footprint of the Games, focusing on low-carbon construction and the preferential use of existing or temporary structures, the Paris team seek to set a precedent for future sporting events.
One of the measures they have incorporated, specifically within the Olympic Village, is an absence of air conditioning units, in an effort to minimise electricity usage. Instead, the architects are relying on a more passive cooling system that utilises under-floor water pipes to carry heat away from each room. “This village was designed to avoid the need for air conditioning, even in very, very high temperatures, in order to maintain comfortable temperatures," stated Anne Hidalgo, the current Mayor of Paris.
This has led a number of competing nations - including the U.S., Japan, and Australia - to reveal they will be bringing their own air conditioning units to the Games, stating that this is essential for the optimal performance of their athletes, particularly in the face of rising temperatures. There is now concern that this will give wealthier nations such as these an unfair advantage, as nations without the capital to invest in their athletes might suffer greater levels of overheating. Australia, for example, is investing up to $100,000 to keep their athletes cool.
Conclusion
On the whole, it would seem the Paris Organising Committee has performed strongly with regards to their heat mitigation strategies for the 2024 Games. Not only are they investing highly in the built infrastructure, but they have deployed sufficient cooling strategies to prevent heating throughout the Games and implemented contingency plans for the most extremes of heat.
Whilst the Committee is trying to push these Games as an example of sustainable design, which it has certainly gone a long way to proving, it might be more apt to promote itself as a case study in heat mitigation and events management. If events such as the Eras Tour in Rio de Janeiro had implemented half of the contingency measures the Paris team have put in place, it is possible that tragedy could have been avoided.
And yet, however much we discuss the science and practice of climate mitigation, one question cannot be avoided: should we continue the Games as they are at all? Not necessarily cancel the Olympics forthwith, but it might be beneficial to consider rescheduling the time of year they are held; if the Games continue to be held at the hottest point of the year, rising temperatures will see greater year-on-year investment in keeping those involved cool.
This, however, will be for the next hosts to decide.
