Can the Winter Olympics Survive Climate Change?

Winter is warming up, and the Winter Olympics are starting to feel it. Shorter snow seasons and more unreliable cold snaps are turning a once-simple assumption into a real logistical problem. If winter keeps arriving later and leaving sooner, where can the Winter Games still work, and for how long?

A Warning Sign From the French Alps

Maya Cloetens is a 24-year-old Belgian biathlete training in the Alps near Grenoble, France—a place that used to be the heart of Olympic winter. The biathlon is a grueling sport that combines cross-country skiing and rifle shooting. A sport where endurance meets precision.

Grenoble hosted the 1968 Winter Olympics. Today, heavy snowfall is less consistent, and winters are noticeably milder and shorter. The Winter Olympics are set to return to the French Alps in 2030, but Grenoble will not be the centerpiece. Cloetens has described the shift in personal terms: “I grew up there, and I really see the difference in the snow. In 15 years, it has completely changed.”