パリ五輪は東京以上の酷暑？　研究者が改めて警告

【パリＡＦＰ＝時事】今夏のパリ五輪について、酷暑の危険性を警告する新たな報告書が１８日に出された。（写真は資料写真）
　「Ｒｉｎｇｓ　ｏｆ　Ｆｉｒｅ（火の輪）」と題されたこの報告書は、非営利団体と英ポーツマス大学の研究者、五輪選手が共同で作成したもので、パリ五輪の気象条件は前回の東京五輪よりも過酷になる可能性があると述べている。
　報告書は「２０２４年７月から８月にかけてのパリ五輪では、すさまじい暑さの影響で選手が倒れたり、最悪の場合、大会中に死亡したりすることもあり得る」と警告。また、大会の日程やタイミングを調整し、地球温暖化による猛暑の中で戦う肉体的な負担を考慮してほしいというスポーツ関係者からの声が高まっていることも伝え、北半球の夏の盛りが恒例となっている五輪の日程を再考するべきだと訴えた。
　７月２６日から８月１１日の五輪開催期間は、通常はパリの気温が最も高い時期で、近年は記録的な熱波が連続で押し寄せている。公衆衛生当局のデータによれば、昨年はフランス全土で５０００人以上が酷暑により命を落とし、気温も過去最高となる４０度以上を各地で記録した。また昨年５月に発表された学術誌の研究では、パリの猛暑での関連死割合が、欧州８５４の都市で最も高かったことが紹介されている。
　また、空調のない選手村はカーボンフットプリントを削減する一方、報告書は「選手は五輪前の大きな不安点として、空調がないため暑さで眠れないことを挙げている」と述べている。代表チームは携帯型のエアコンを部屋に置いてもいいと言われており、多くの国が持ち込むことを選んでいる。【翻訳編集ＡＦＰＢＢＮｅｗｓ】
〔ＡＦＰ＝時事〕（2024/06/20-17:05）

A new report backed by climate scientists and athletes warned Tuesday about the dangers posed by extreme high temperatures at this year's Paris Olympics.
The Rings of Fire report -- a collaboration between non-profit Climate Central, academics at Britain's University of Portsmouth and 11 Olympians -- said conditions in Paris could be worse than the last Games in Tokyo in 2021.
It warned that intense heat at the Paris Olympics in July-August 2024 could lead to competitors collapsing and in worst case scenarios dying during the Games.
The study adds to a growing number of calls from sports people to adjust schedules and the timing of events to take into account the physical strain of competing in higher temperatures caused by global warming.
Rings of Fire urges organisers of competitions typically held at the height of the northern hemisphere summer -- such as the Olympics or the football World Cup -- to re-think their scheduling.
They should also provide improved rehydration and cooling plans for athletes and fans to avoid the risk of heat stroke, the study argued.
The Paris Olympics, which run from July 26-August 11, are set to take place in what are usually the warmest months in the French capital which has been struck by a series of record heatwaves in recent years.
More than 5,000 people died in France as a result of searing summer heat last year when new local highs above 40 degrees Centigrade (104 Fahrenheit) were recorded around the country, according to public health data.
A study in the Lancet Planet Health journal last May found that Paris had the highest heat-related death rates of 854 European towns and cities, partly due to its lack of green space and dense population.
- Rainy conditions -
Rather than high temperatures, incessant rain is currently the bigger weather-related concern for Paris 2024 organisers, with regular downpours in May and June leading to unusually strong currents in the river Seine and poor water quality.
The Seine is set to host a boat parade during the unprecedented opening ceremony being planned for July 26, as well as the triathlon swimming and marathon swimming events -- pollution permitting.
Organisers of Paris 2024 say they have built flexibility into their schedules, enabling them to shift around some events such as the marathon or triathlon to avoid the peaks of midday heat.
But much of the Games is set to take place in temporary stands that lack shade, while the athletes' village has been built without air conditioning to reduce the Games' carbon footprint.
Sleep disruption due to heat has been cited in the build-up to the 2024 Games as a major concern by athletes, especially given the lack of air conditioning in the Olympic Village, the report said.
Olympic teams have been offered the possibility of installing portable air-conditioning units in their accommodation, however, which many have opted to include.
- 'New norm' -
One of the athletes who backed the Rings of Fire report, Indian triathlete Pragnya Mohan, said she had left her home country because of high temperatures, with India recently reporting its longest ever heatwave.
With climate change, the kind of heat that we experience has increased so much, Mohan told reporters. I am not able to train in my country. That is one of the reasons that I moved to the UK.
Other athletes behind the report explained how athletes have adjusted their training to take into account global warming, either waking before dawn to preserve themselves or exercising in high-tech heat chambers to acclimatise to summer temperatures.
I've found myself in conditions where you're literally trying to get through the next phase of play, Jamie Farndale, a rugby Sevens player for Britain, told reporters.
I've had teamates who had heatstroke and have spent several days back in the hotel, he added.
The last Summer Olympics in Tokyo were widely thought to have been the hottest on record, with temperatures regularly above 30C coupled with 80 percent humidity.
Tokyo organisers moved the race walk events and two marathons 800 kilometres (500 miles) north of Tokyo in the hope of cooler weather that did not really materialise.
Despite a range of anti-heat measures including misting stations, many athletes struggled while performing, including Russian tennis player Daniil Medvedev who wondered aloud on court if he might die.
Speaking after Tokyo, World Athletics president Sebastian Coe, who wrote a foreword for Rings of Fire, warned that the new norm was competing in really harsh climatic conditions.