Artificial Snow & Winter Olympics 2022

Ground Report | New Delhi: Artificial Snow & Winter Olympics; Artificial snow is made up of sodium polyacrylate polymer, which is also known as hydrogel. Over the years, Artificial Snow has been widely used at indoor ski resorts as winter sports are becoming popular. With the advancement in technologies, numerous ways have been provided to create or improvise snow accordingly. The common usage of Artificial Snow can be traced in the Olympics or ski resorts. Snow is made from the snow machine as per the requirements.

Snowmaking is widely used to supplement natural snow at the ski resorts so that visitors can access winter sports, round the year. The use of Artificial snow can be traced back to the 1980s, during the first winter games, since then, has been used widely in Olympics 2010, 2014 and reportedly in the 2018 Winter Olympics as well. Now, Beijing Olympics is all set to use snowmaking machines for the production of artificial snow. Snow production needs low temperatures and apparently, it is a costly affair.

Winter Olympics, 2022

The Beijing Winter Olympics is set to begin on 04 February 2022 and welcomes participants from all over the world. The Beijing Summer Olympics, 2008 marked a milestone of China emerging as a global power. The country showcased Chinese culture as well as history. The main unique selling point that peaked the interest of the viewers and the attendees was the $100 million budget. Steven Spielberg referred to the 2008 Summer Olympics as the Grandest Spectacle of Millennium.

Now after 14 years, once again Beijing is all set to showcase its culture, history and legacy over the years. The Beijing Olympics, 2022 is expected to be a game-changer in terms of the Olympics as the world has changed drastically since 2008. Three years into the pandemic, everyone has been trying to adjust to the new normal, Beijing announced that these Olympics will be held under firm COVID-19 restrictions.

Artificial Snow, Beijing Olympics and Climate Change

However, the environmental costs associated with fake snow production cannot be neglected. The making of artificial snow demands energy which is unsustainable as well as damages the environment and leads flora and fauna to face consequences. Due to the high density and greater weight, Artificial snow becomes a common factor in soil freezing and eventually the death of vegetation.

The Beijing Olympics which are all set to begin next month are reported to have deployed over 100 snow generators and approx 300 snowmaking guns. It is estimated that Beijing and Zhangjiakou could use around 49 million gallons of chemically treated water. The concerns are there and the risk is clear as the situation is alarming and this will threaten the winter Olympics future in the long run. Beijing states that Chinese authorities will ensure the games take place in a good and safe environment.

The production of Artificial Snow impacts the environment as it involves the usage of water in huge quantities as water is the key factor in the snowmaking process. Following Water, the process demands lots of energy as well as relies over diesel or electricity thus it leads to the emission of carbon dioxide. All these factors further alter the ecology and biodiversity as well. Along with all these, the economic and social costs cannot be avoided as a lot of budgets is required to carry out the project successfully.

You can connect with Ground Report on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Whatsapp and Subscribe to our YouTube channel. For suggestions and writeups mail us at [email protected] 

ALSO READ: What is Wordle? How to play and win the internet’s latest game obsession

ALSO READ: Coke Studios Kana Yaari song with Lyrics