Thursday, March 28

Beijing 2022: the snow of the JJ.OO. is it artificial? | Digital Trends Spanish


Since February 4, the Winter Olympics have been taking place, an event that takes place every four years and encompasses different ice and snow sports.

As such, the environment for such sports must be suitable, however, the slopes around northwest Beijing, where they are being held this year, are too dry and hot to create snow. For this reason, according to CNNfor the first time in the history of the games we will see 100 percent artificial snow.

But this is not an outlier. In fact, a study published late last year in the journal Current Issues in Tourism revealed that only one of the 21 cities that hosted the Winter Olympics in the last half century will have a climate suitable for snow sports by the end of this century, if fossil fuels are not controlled.

As the planet warms and the weather becomes increasingly erratic, natural snow becomes less reliable for winter sports, forcing venues to rely more heavily on artificial snow.

The problem is that this comes at a cost: man-made snow is incredibly resource intensive, requiring massive amounts of energy and water to produce in a climate that is getting warmer by the day. Elite athletes also say that the sports themselves become more complicated and less safe with artificial snow.

How is artificial snow being produced?

The Italian-based snow making company, TechnoAlpin, is the one behind the artificial snow for this edition of the Olympic Games; it is the first time that only one company has been commissioned for this task.

“We are very proud to say that we are the only company to provide the snowmaking systems for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics,” he told CNN TechnoAlpin Asia Area Manager Michael Mayr in an interview.

But there is a critical component to making snow at some of Beijing’s sites: temperatures cold enough to freeze water. At that venue, which hosts some outdoor events, nearly every day in February for the past 30 years has been above freezing, according to a recent report from slippery slopes led by Loughborough University on how the climate crisis is affecting the Winter Olympics.

Traditionally, snowmaking has relied heavily on snow cannons and sub-zero temperatures. But, to adapt to warmer temperatures and lower elevations, a different approach must be taken.

To work alongside Mother Nature, TechnoAlpin has provided 350 snowmakers, seven engine rooms and pump stations, which house 51 high-pressure pumps, and nine cooling towers for this year’s games. The company has been working on this for almost three years.

What problems are there with artificial snow?

There are multiple problems with artificial snow, including the fact that it takes a staggering amount of energy to create, and the warmer environments get, the more energy is needed.

On the other hand, the International Olympic Committee estimated that 49 million gallons of water will be used to create all the snow, which according to CNN it is a day’s drinking water for nearly 100 million people. That’s a lot of water in the world where so many are forced to go without.

Artificial snow isn’t all that safe for athletes, either, according to a January report titled slippery slopes: How climate change threatens the 2022 Winter Olympicspublished by Sport Ecology Group, Loughborough University London and Protect Our Winters.

In the report, Scottish freestyle skier Laura Donaldson said: “If freestyle supertubes are formed from snow machines in a bad season [de nieve natural], the walls of the tube are solid, vertical ice, and the tube floor is solid ice. This is dangerous for athletes, some have died.”

Yet artificial snow is being used as a tool to extend ski seasons at competitions and in resorts around the world, many of which are threatened by higher temperatures from the climate crisis.

Now, if snow is expensive, uses valuable drinking water, and isn’t as safe as natural snow for the athletes it was created for, is it really worth it? Perhaps winter sports events should be held only in places with a lot of snow in the future.

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