Madeleine Orr, an Loughborough University sports ecologist, said that China’s plans to create artificial snowfall for the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics pose an environmental threat and could cause damage. Voice of America (VoA), citing Madeleine, reported that the future of Winter Olympics is at risk due to climate change. Madeleine said that artificial snow can be used in places that don’t have any natural snow. This could cause the soil to absorb too much water.
Madeleine explained that artificial snow is placed in places that don’t have natural snow, such as Beijing. This means that you are putting a lot of water in a place that the soil and plants are not expecting. Research has shown that this can be harmful to wildlife.
However, we expect that when you create this much snow, your energy usage will be exceptional. This is a remarkable amount of water. We’re expecting 49,000,000 gallons to be consumed during the Olympics. [185 million liters]She said that water can be used, provided things go well.”
According to the media outlet, the sports ecoologist stated that if authorities have a few warm days and need to make up for lost snowfall, they could see the number of snowfalls rise to about 50 million gallons (189 millions litres). Madeleine predicted that by 2050 less than half the resorts hosting the Winter Olympics will have snowfall.
China wins venue in the midst of natural reserve, despite being confronted with flak
It is important to mention that Chinas Ministry of Ecology and Environment announced in January that it will restrict the operations of certain air polluters. Liu Youbin, spokesperson of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment, stated that in northern China, this period can cause an increase in air pollution.
The warning comes after China, despite heavy criticism from environmental activists and completed construction of the Beijing Winter Olympics’ venue in the middle of a nature preserve. CNN claims that the Olympic ski venue was constructed despite Beijing’s pledge to make the event the cleanest and most environmentally-friendly in history. According to CNN, the venue was built in the middle a natural lake that has played a vital part in the lives of the living creatures for decades.
