Growing up in New Mexico, I spent my winters skiing at resorts across the state. There were always plenty of Texans on the slopes, too, soaking up the snow right alongside us. Back then, I never gave much thought to whether there would be snow when I made my ski plans; it was just a given.
That’s changed in recent years. Now I find myself checking snow reports ahead of time and, in some cases, changing plans altogether because there simply isn’t enough snow on the mountain. A warming world means fewer cold days and fewer opportunities for natural snowfall.
That brings us to this year’s Winter Olympics in Milan and Cortina d’Ampezzo, Italy. In the 70 years since Cortina first hosted the Winter Games in 1956, average February temperatures in the northern Italian town have risen by 6.4 degrees, an important shift that’s reshaping what winter looks like, not just there, but around the world.
These warming trends are showing up in a very real way, with far fewer freezing days than in the past. Cortina d’Ampezzo now averages 41 fewer freezing days each year, a nearly 20% drop compared to when the Winter Games were first held there in 1956.
And Milan and Cortina aren’t unique. Every city that has hosted the Winter Olympics since 1950 has experienced warming. That trend raises serious concerns about the reliability, safety, and competitive fairness of outdoor winter sports.
As the planet continues to warm, the list of dependable host locations is shrinking. One recent study found that out of 93 potential host sites worldwide, only 52 are expected to have reliably cold and snowy conditions for the Winter Olympics by the 2050s.
Because the Paralympic Winter Games are typically held in March, they face even greater climate risks. By the 2050s, only 22 out of 93 potential host locations are expected to have reliably cold conditions that late in the season.
History of the Winter Olympics:
The first Winter Games were held in 1924, when nearly all events took place outdoors. By the 1980s, however, several sports, including ice hockey, figure skating, speed skating, and curling, had moved indoors to refrigerated ice rinks, reducing their exposure to warming temperatures.
But many of the most popular Olympic events are still held outdoors, and continued warming is making both competition and preparation more difficult for athletes. Here’s how a warmer world is already affecting some Winter Olympic sports:
Snowboarding - Snow availability doesn’t just affect competition days; it also limits where athletes can train. Many snowboarders are now forced to “chase the snow,” leaving their traditional training grounds in search of locations with more consistent and reliable snowfall.
Alpine skiing - In the United States, the average ski season has already shortened by up to a week compared to the 1960–1979 period. At the professional level, alpine ski races have increasingly been canceled or rescheduled due to warm temperatures and a lack of snow.
Bobsledding - Bobsledding requires freezing temperatures to maintain safe, fast tracks. While races are held outdoors, many tracks now depend on constant refrigeration to keep ice conditions stable, adding cost, complexity, and energy demands as winters continue to warm.
Here’s a climate fact that really puts today’s warming into perspective: the last month that was cooler than average across the entire planet was February 1985. That means anyone under the age of 40 has never experienced a globally colder-than-average month.
The numbers tell the story even more clearly. In January 2026, about 8.5% of locations around the world set new warm records. Only 0.1% set new cold records. In other words, warm records outnumbered cold records by an overwhelming margin, another clear sign of how much the climate has shifted.
It’s good this year isn’t 2034:
The Winter Olympics in 2034 will be held in Salt Lake City, Utah. The last time Utah hosted the Winter Olympics was in 2002. Check out the below graphic and tell me if you see a problem if the Utah Olympics were this year.
The graphic above shows Utah’s current statewide snowpack. A “normal” snowpack is represented as 100%, so anything below that means less snow than average.
As of February 1, Utah is reporting a record-low statewide snowpack. That’s based on data from SNOTEL measurement stations, which have been tracking snow conditions across the state since the early 1980s.
The lack of snow is especially noticeable in Salt Lake City. The city recorded just one-tenth of an inch of snow in January, a tiny amount for an area that typically averages nearly 13 inches during the month.
Looking statewide, 31 of Utah’s 140 snow-monitoring stations have measured their lowest snow water equivalent on record. Snow water equivalent tells us how much water is stored in the snowpack, which is critical for water supplies later in the year. Another 12 stations reported their second-lowest levels ever. Altogether, nearly one-third of Utah’s monitoring network is at its worst or second-worst snowpack level on record.
The future:
The International Olympic Committee is already looking at major changes, including limiting the Winter Games to a smaller group of reliable host locations and even moving the Olympics to January, when temperatures are typically colder. Those steps may buy some time, but they don’t solve the larger problem.
At its core, the future of the Winter Olympics raises a bigger question, one that goes far beyond sports. In a warming world, how do we protect not just the Games, but the winters they depend on? Because without reliable cold and snow, the traditions, the competition, and the very spirit of the Winter Olympics are all on thin ice.