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Can the Winter Olympics survive climate change?

Molly Sinnott

I loved watching the Winter Olympics this year. From wild comebacks, to athletes defying—or falling short—of expectations, to the truly bizarre subplots,  I was completely there for the drama. But one of the quieter headlines that caught my attention is the way climate change is threatening the future of the winter games themselves. At these Olympics, cross-country skiers raced shirtless, nearly all the snow was human-made, and the final days of competition in Milan had high temperatures of 65°F, potentially contributing to several speedskating crashes.

Maybe it’s watching the Olympics, maybe it’s their own experience of snowboarding, sledding, or ice skating, but I wonder how students are making sense of these not-so-wintry conditions. Are your students talking about the real-life implications of climate change? What are the things that they notice most in their daily lives—and how are you helping them understand what they're seeing?

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    My students who ski and snowboard and have snowmobiles definitely notice that most years there isn't enough snow to play in. We on the east coast had what is now an uncharacteristically wintry winter this year where we had decent snow and cold temps that allowed it to stick around. We talked about it and I made sure to point out that while we were having a 'real' winter, other parts of the country and world were having warmer than average temps. I'll definitely incorporate this idea into my climate change unit in a few weeks. 

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    Everyone in my region of Washington State is talking about climate.  We're all in the worst pickle.  We have practically no snowpack in the mountains.  Sure, the reservoirs are full right now, but mid summer when we need that snowpack to melt and keep the water flowing to the crops and orchards- it won't be there.  In the 30 years I've lived in this region we've all shoveled snow in the winter.  This entire winter I never had to touch a shovel, let alone my snow blower.  It's weird too, we're so used to snow in the winter and it just didn't happen at all.  It's raining more too, and with that comes tall grasses which inevitably catch fire.  We're in for a wild summer.

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    In the past, it could be more difficult for my students to identify how climate change was directly impacting them. This winter/spring has been very eye opening to them, as our school has the AC on as oppose to the heat, no snowdays in sight, and wildfires already beginning. I just heard on NPR today that our Colorado ski resorts are closing their seasons early - Vail is closing this weekend - about two weeks early. The pictures of dry mountains this year have been astonishing! My students and I have indentified and discussed these impacts on us humans; the next take for me is how are our Rocky Mountain ecosystems being directly impacted by this lack of snow.