2026 Paralympic Winter Games: Snow Issue
By Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw
With one year to go to the 2026 Milan-Cortina Games in Italy, Andrew Parsons, the President of the International Paralympic Committee, has expressed concern about the future of the Winter Paralympic Games, due to climate change and the resulting lack of snow.
In fact, the downhill events at the 2025 Para Alpine World Ski Championships in Maribor, Slovenia, were cancelled due to poor snow conditions.
Parsons commented that:
"I don't worry this will be the last but when it comes to change, yes it is something we have been discussing with the IOC - how to be prepared for necessary changes that may have to be made around winter Games.”
And added that:
"We are seeing the quality - and the amount of snow in many ski resorts around the world - is being affected, that's a fact.
What we are seeing for the future of winter Games is that we will have less hosts able to provide a good field of play, and we need to be prepared for that."
In 2023, the IOC stated that only 10 countries will be able to host snow sports by 2040, because of the impact of climate change.
It may be added that almost100% of the snow at the 2022 Winter Olympics and Paralympics in Beijing was artificial, which has an environmental cost, and, as a result of temperatures reaching in excess of 20C and causing melting, competition schedules had to be changed.
It is reported that 90% of the Italian ski slopes rely on artificial snow.
The 2026 Italian Paralympic Games mark the 50th anniversary of the first Winter Paralympics, held in Ornskoldsvik, Sweden, and some 600 athletes are expected to participate, with the competitions shared between Cortina (Para alpine skiing, Para-snowboarding and wheelchair curling); Milan (Para-ice hockey); and Val di Fiemme (Para-cross country skiing and Para-biathlon).
Prof Dr Ian Blackshaw may be contacted by e-mail at ‘
