LA fires should be ‘wake up’ for sport – experts

According to experts, the wildfires in Los Angeles should serve as a warning to major sports event organizers that they must adapt to climate change.

Since Tuesday, a number of wind-driven fires have ripped through large areas of California, killing at least 24 people and causing the destruction of thousands of structures, and causing costs that are already projected to exceed $135 billion (£109.7 billion).

In addition to the 2026 Fifa World Cup and the revamped Club World Cup this summer, LA will host the following editions of the Olympic and Paralympic Games in 2028.

“We need to take a long, hard look at the cost and benefits of each of these]major sports events]”, Iris Stewart-Frey, professor in environmental science at Santa Clara University in California, told BBC Sport.

California is particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events due to a phenomenon known as a climate “whiplash” (rapid shifts between very wet and very dry conditions).

After a decade-long soil-damaging drought, California was beset by heavy rain and storms in 2022 and 2023, which scientists say was a result of climate change.

One of the worst fires in the area’s history was caused by the intense rainfall, which in combination with high temperatures and strong winds, created new vegetation.

“It shows that even areas that are as magical, innovative and as resourced as Los Angeles are not immune from climate change”, added Stewart-Frey.

“These fires demonstrate that wherever we are, we must be planning for climate and weather events that haven’t occurred in human history.”

Since LA last hosted the Olympics in 1984 and the 1994 World Cup final was held in nearby Pasadena, California’s climate has drastically changed.

Extreme weather events are much more prevalent and unpredictable now, more than thirty years later.

According to a new study, climate change has increased these whiplash conditions globally by 31-66% since the middle of the 20th century, while California now has 78 more days per year than it did 50 years ago.

According to Timothy Kellison, associate professor of sport management at Florida State University, “for quite some time now researchers and scholars have been sounding some alarms about the suitability and feasibility of sport, and large sporting events like the Olympics Games and World Cup around the world.”

“Climate-related sea level rises being one of those,]as well as] extreme heat, extreme cold.

There is much research that suggests they will continue to grow, the seasons will get longer, and the devastation will unfavorably increase, but we are trying to predict something that is largely unpredictable in terms of size and scope.

Extreme weather events can have an impact on major sporting events, but they can also affect their frequency.

3.3.6 million tonnes of carbon were released into the atmosphere as a result of Fifa reporting that Qatar’s 2022 World Cup, according to a Swiss regulator, made false statements about environmental promises.

” Any of these activities adds to carbon emissions, “said Stewart-Frey.

As well as many other governing bodies and international federations, both the International Olympic Committee and Fifa, the hosts of the Olympics and World Cup, now have senior staff members in charge of sustainability at a strategic level.

These employees are accountable for ensuring that their organizations take the environment into account when making decisions and for minimizing any harm resulting from the events they organize.

” If you were to ask those folks who are heads of sustainability at these different organisations, they would probably give you a company line saying that there really is a strong vested interest]in the environment], “said Kellison.

Sadly, those leaders tend to be in positions of authority. They are just one voice where lots of other factors – economics, marketing, sponsorship – are all taken into account.

So it will continue to be an uphill battle until sustainability is ingrained into the entire leadership at the top of these organizations, even though sustainability might have just one voice in that room.

The IOC is “in full solidarity with the citizens of Los Angeles and full of admiration for the tireless work of the firefighters and security forces,” according to a spokesperson for the organization.

According to them, “the fight against the fires and the protection of the people and property must be the main priorities right now.”

With warming reaching new heights, extreme weather events increasing, and most major countries failing to reduce their emissions, adaptation to climate change is becoming increasingly important. The same must be said for sport.

“Sports organizations are thinking less about how to stop climate change,” we are seeing right now. and more on “how do we adapt to it”? ‘”, said Kellison.

“So rescheduling, altering the schedule of competitions or fixtures, even constructing sports facilities themselves or considering the best location to place them.

Being aware of what is in front of us right now is really important for sports organizations because any positive impact we make won’t be felt for maybe generations. The best case scenario is right now to anticipate the unanticipated.

Due to the devotion and commitment shown by some sports fans, it is possible that compromised fixtures and major events will reveal just how devastatingly real the threat of climate change is.

Kellison continued, “Sometimes it takes events like this for people to really grasp the concept of climate change,” she said.

People actually begin to understand it when they experience it and are living it. Talking about their favorite NFL team having to play somewhere else might pique some interest, but you can tell them that their lives or their children’s lives will be affected.

In recent memory, sport has experienced a lot of significant social changes, and it may have to change once more.

” Coming together to be in friendly competition, in goodwill, and understanding each other, is a real benefit from these kinds of events and in many ways we need more of that, “said Stewart-Frey.