UKC

The Olympics are looking grim and indeed dangerous for the athletes due to the heat. The Japanese Environment Ministry recommends no sports exercise above 31 degrees and temps have already exceeded that.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/20/tokyo-olympics-fears-athletes...

Will be awful for the bouldering. I know the climbers are all facing the same conditions more or less but even so

The climate crisis is here, and getting worse. 

Some summer weather are the least of the problems with holding the Olympics this summer. 

Sure COVID-19 is a bigger deal than weather for Olympic athletes. Even so, danger to athletes is an  issue also. And the climate crisis is a long term bigger deal than COVID-19. And as a climber it is still interesting to discuss the conditions for Olympic climbers

Id also say the athletes are at more risk from extremes of heat than the risk posed to them from covid.

Covid will fade away but the change to the climate is only going to get worse. I'm certainly more worried about the future my daughter will witness regarding climate over a virus 

Will be even worse at the world Cup next year, how's that going to work?

Looks like it is going to be held November 12 to December 18. Temperature range 17-30 degrees

Track and field athletes will be used to it. The last IAAF World Championships took place in Doha, extreme temperatures and no crowds for much of it.

Climate change? Maybe it's time to stop building massive new complexes, flying athletes and their entourages around the world, their sponsors, the media.. all in the name of entertainment, sponsored by the like of a burger chain and fizzy drinks company? 

That sounds good, if true! Is the premier league etc cross?

A quick Google shows that an average temperature in Tokyo during July and August is the high 20s early 30s so I don't feel a cry of climate change is correct merely just normal summer weather.

Not denying climate change at all but I don't think this is abnormal for tokyo in July/August.

Indeed, the 1964 Tokyo Olympics was held in October, presumably because the summer was judged as too hot even back then

No exercise above 31?  It's been above that every day I've been out climbing for over a month now, and don't expect temps much below that until early Oct.  Going out today and expecting a relatively cool 34-ish.  Last week was out and it didn't get below 38.  Humid too.  Must admit did find that a bit uncomfortable.

They've got actual outdoor aircon in the stadiums out there. (Try not to think about the environmental impact/energy used to pipe cold air into an open topped stadium in that  heat!)

Longer duration events like the marathon will be hard if its really high temps...lots of indoor sports though in the Olympics aswell as the athletics.

I don't know how people manage in high heat....I did 10 miles in the lakes yesterday, I got back to the car and it said 32c. I got through 5 litres of water and struggled with the last mile or so keeping my temp down....felt well rough afterwards and only revived by eating jelly babies, and salted crisps!

.......or the number of dead migrant workers killed constructing the stadiums.

Temperature is a very subjective thing. I work outside all through winter in a tee shirt and if its a cold day I put a vest on. The flip side of that is anything above 15c is very uncomfortable to work in and above 20c is uncomfortable to rest / holiday in.

A mate of mine works in an aluminium casting factory pooing the metal on the shop floor, it's only in the last week or so he has taken his jumper off when outside. 

Temperatures in Japan are not just normal summer weather. There has been an overall climate warming trend, part of the global picture, of increased numbers of annual days with  maximum temperature over 35C since 1910. See https://www.nippon.com/en/japan-data/h01068/. "Tokyo’s average temperature has risen by 2.9C since 1900, more than three times faster than the global average rise." See https://www.independent.co.uk/climate-change/news/tokyo-olympics-temperatur...

The "no sport above 31 degrees" is not just temperature but "wet bulb globe temperature – which combines temperature, humidity, wind and solar radiation measurements" Sorry I wasn't clear See https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2021/jul/20/tokyo-olympics-fears-athletes.... WBGT sounds odd I know: it is terminology we will become more and more familiar with. It is intended as an overall calculation of heat stress.  https://ksi.uconn.edu/prevention/wet-bulb-globe-temperature-monitoring/#

Only some.

The trouble with the Olympics almost constantly being held somewhere hot and/or sweaty is that athletes - and particularly endurance athletes - from many countries (i.e. mainly northern and western Europe) are at a disadvantage from the start, unless they have the financial backup to spend months (if not years) training abroad to simulate said conditions.

Wet bulb measurements aren't new. Curiously Australia has won the 2032 Olympics from a cast of one! Seems no one wants it, hardly surprising. 

I agree they are not new. My point was that the terminology would become more familiar (as heat stress becomes more and more of an issue due to the climate crisis)

I'd be surprised, most folk can't even get their head around weather and climate, air temp and wind chill... average Joe will just claim it's a new way to measure temperatures to trick them into hearing that climate change is real by taking higher readings, even if wet bulb is often slightly lower than than a standard in the shade reading.  

I mean that we will hear it more and more often (my impression is that we are already), not that the general public would all buy into it

Japn is always crazy hot in July /August. After the Fukishima disaster they were struggling in the summer as there was not enough power for airconditioning units and it was horrendous working.

Japanese in my experience are very well aware of climate change.

Bloody hell, I hope he's well paid.

Or are Callum Hawkins.

From his Wikipaedia page;

Hawkins competed at the 2018 Commonwealth Games held in Gold Coast, Australia, and collapsed near the finish while leading, from heat exhaustion in 30 degree heat.

Rather underlines my point doesn't it ? Seems he (unfortunately) isn't immune to the crazy temperatures that the high-ups who arrange the venues for major championships are run in.

Read about his run in Doha.

Although not directly, these issues are related. 

Well spotted, living up to the name there. 

Wet bulb temperature can never be higher and are often significantly lower than than the dry bulb ('actual') temperature.  This afternoon in most of the UK it was between 19 and 22.  Wet bulb temps in Tokyo have been 30 or above every day this week.   According to Wikipedia (I know but I'm not claiming to be an expert) sustained wet bulb temperatures above 35 degrees are likely to prove fatal even to inactive people since the body can no longer shed heat to the enironment by sweating. 

Of course because the baseline is 100% humidity and it can't go higher. It's surprising what your body can cope with, but almost none of these athletes will be acclimatised. I've lived and worked where it is a bit warm and you find yourself reaching for a fleece or long sleeved when the temp drops below 30 in the evening! You still sweat even in 40+, but it's cooling effect is reduced, as the sweat is evaporated off the skin by air temp not just body heat, so your body gets less in return for those lost fluids. Dehydration is a massive risk if active at all, as you can lose a lot of fluids relatively quickly compared to the speed your body can absorb through drinking.  

If there was an optimum human temp it must be around 20-22c, in terms of not needing extra clothing when stationery, but we can still function well when active. 

Indeed. My wife still puts on an electric blanket before going to bed. Whereas I have the summer duvet thrown off my upper half and still find it too warm.

Working from home now means blinds pulled down on my windows and t-shirt off. 

Hmm kind of. Wet bulb temperature itself won't be higher than the dry bulb (when both recorded in a Stevenson screen).

BUT in terms of WBGT the wet bulb is an exposed wet bulb reading (not in a screen - this is where wind can have an effect on WBGT) which can bump it up a degree or two. When this is combined with the dry bulb reading and the globe temperature (temperature inside a small black globe exposed to the sun) then the overall WBGT can be higher than the dry bulb.

Edited to add:
E.g. WBGT forecasts for today are suggesting about 26-27 C (whilst the wet bulb temp itself will be around 20 C) which is about 2-3 degrees cooler than the forecast max dry bulb temperature. 

But WBGT this morning may be the same or higher than the dry bulb reading due to higher relative humidity.
 

I watched that on the telly.  The poor bloke, he was so close to finishing.  Spectators were filming him staggering around and eventually falling.  Seemed to take an age (but probably wasn’t really that long) to get medical assistance to him.

Wasn’t a pretty sight.

Means it's just a lottery - not good for the body, particularly for long term health.

looking forward to some spectacular performances thanks to covid..