IOC Weighs Moving Winter Olympics to January Due to Climate Change

Plan under discussion to move the Games one month earlier, from February to January
Concerns over easily melting snow and increasing difficulty in securing sufficient snowfall
Last January opening was the 1964 Innsbruck Games

Climate change is affecting the Winter Olympics as well.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is discussing a plan to move the Winter Olympics from the current schedule in February to January. Karl Stoss, chair of the IOC Olympic Program Working Group, met with reporters including Reuters at the Main Media Center (MMC) for the Milan-Cortina d'Ampezzo 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan, Italy, on the 4th (local time) during the 145th IOC Session, and stated, "We are discussing holding the Winter Olympics in January."

The International Olympic Committee is discussing holding the Winter Olympics in January instead of February. Yonhap News Agency

The reason is that it is becoming increasingly difficult to secure sufficient snowfall due to climate change. Stoss explained, "At present, the Olympics are held in February and the Paralympics in March, but during this period the sunlight is strong and the snow melts easily," adding, "If we are to hold the Paralympics in February, we need to move the Winter Olympics forward to January." The last time the Winter Olympics opened in January was the 1964 Games in Innsbruck, Austria. Since then, all editions have kicked off in February.

Reuters reported, "Rising temperatures worldwide are putting the entire snow sports industry at risk," adding, "According to IOC research, by 2040 only around 10 countries worldwide will be able to host snow events for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics." In fact, at the Beijing 2022 Winter Olympics, insufficient natural snowfall meant that more than 100 snowmaking machines and 300 artificial snow-blowing devices had to be deployed to stage the competitions.

The IOC is reviewing broad changes to the Winter Olympics, including the timing of the Games. As part of efforts to boost the Games' popularity and generate revenue, the introduction of summer sports into the Winter Olympics is also under discussion. Stoss revealed, "We are comprehensively reviewing the overall scale of the Games, the composition of events, and the possibility of introducing new disciplines."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.