How much does the weather have to do with hosting the Winter Olympics?
After the Tokyo Olympic Games in 2020, all sports fans turned their eyes to Beijing, and world sports entered Beijing time.
Like the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, the preparations for the Beijing Winter Olympics are very detailed, and meteorological preparations are no exception.
Do you know how much the weather has to do with the hosting of the Winter Olympics? Meteorology has a lot to do with sports, especially the Winter Olympics, which depends on the weather.
Meteorological indicators are an important basis for the site selection of the Winter Olympics.
From the distribution of venues in previous Winter Olympics, we can draw a conclusion that the venues in previous Winter Olympics are concentrated in the northern hemisphere, and they are all in the middle and high latitudes. This is determined by the nature of the Winter Olympics. Because most of the Winter Olympics are ice and snow events, the geographical environment of the venue is extremely demanding, so it is impossible to hold them in tropical cities.
Moreover, the IOC has very high requirements for the choice of the host city, including two core meteorological indicators, one is whether the average temperature in February is lower than 0℃, and the other is whether the snowfall in February is greater than 30 cm. If either of the two indicators of the host city is lower than 75%, then the city is not qualified to apply for hosting the Winter Olympics at all. Imagine how ridiculous and pathetic it would be to host the Winter Olympics in a city without chicken blood! If one of the two indicators of the host city is less than 75%, you have no right to apply for the host city of the Winter Olympics. Judging from the current situation, these two hard indicators have been implemented well. In previous Winter Olympics, the probability of those two key meteorological indicators in most cities' bids was greater than 90%.
Snow projects are greatly affected by the weather.
There are two kinds of venues for the Winter Olympics, one is snow competition, and the other is ice competition. Ice games are held indoors. As long as science and technology pass, it can be held even in Sanya, Hainan. But the snow project, as an open-air project, really depends on the weather. Snowfall is greatly influenced by meteorological conditions. If the visibility is too low, it will affect the sight of athletes and referees, which will have a great impact on the safety and engineering of the game. This is only a meteorological condition, which has the most obvious influence on snow events. If subdivided, snow temperature and snow quality have great influence on athletes' preparation. Different snow temperature and snow quality have great influence on athletes' decision on which waxing scheme to adopt in snowboarding.
When there are high-impact weather such as heavy snow, fog, strong wind and strong temperature rise, the competition will be temporarily suspended, and the schedule will be adjusted or even cancelled. There is a precedent for this situation. For example, the 20 18 PyeongChang Winter Olympics has a lesson from the cancellation of project qualifiers.
What are the challenges faced by meteorological services in the Winter Olympics?
The Winter Olympics is a severe test of meteorological services. In addition to accurate meteorological services, there must be accurate forecasts. A Winter Olympics can run accurately and perfectly, and accurate weather forecast is very important, so that the organizers can make enough advance for the competition organization and ensure the smooth running of the competition under the best meteorological conditions. For athletes participating in the competition, accurate weather forecast is of great significance for how to maintain sports equipment before the competition and what strategies to adopt during the competition. Therefore, meteorological service is an important guarantee for the smooth running of the Winter Olympics, and it is also an important guarantee for athletes' competitive level and style.