STORY: In 70 years, most cities in the northern hemisphere will be unfit to host the summer Olympics due to the effects of climate change - this is according to research published this week. SOUNDBITE (English) JOHN BALMES, PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH AT UC BERKELEY, SAYING: "Our study using climate change projection shows that there will be very few cities at the end of the century that will be able to hold the summer Olympics as we know them today." The researchers used projections for the WetBulb globe temperature (WBGT), a measurement that combines temperature, humidity, heat radiation and wind, to determine the viability of potential host cities. The findings assumed that any city with more than a 10 percent chance of having to cancel a marathon due to temperatures exceeding 26 degrees centigrade would not be a viable venue. According to the findings, by 2085 all of the cities that are or were in contention for either the 2020 or 2024 Summer Olympics would be unfit to host the games. 2020 host Tokyo would also be too hot to ensure athlete safety. SOUNDBITE (English) JOHN BALMES, PROFESSOR OF PUBLIC HEALTH AT UC BERKELEY, SAYING: "If we project out to the 22nd century, then there are only 4 cities in the world that can host the summer Olympics and that would be Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dublin and Belfast." The study only took temperature into account. Other factors like rising sea levels may also be an important factor in choosing venues for future summer games.
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