The Paris Olympics suffered an embarrassing scene: many countries announced that they would bring their own air conditioning to participate

Finance Associated Press

2024-06-26 18:04The official account of Cailianpress, a subsidiary of Shanghai Poster Group

Finance Associated Press, June 26 (Editor Shi Zhengcheng) Starting from July 26 a month later, the quadrennial global Olympic event will open in Paris, France.

As the media began to visit the Olympic Village, where the Olympians were about to stay, one issue began to stir up a global debate: the athletes' rooms were not air-conditioned, at least not as we traditionally thought they were.

Geothermal cooling system

It is reported that the Paris organizers have built an Olympic Village that aims to run 100% on renewable energy in line with the concept of creating "the most responsible and sustainable Games in history".

In addition to solar panels on the roof, the 14,250 beds in the 3,000 apartments, as well as mattresses and stools, are made from recycled materials. During the Tokyo Olympics, this bed also received a very popular name - cardboard bed.

(IOC President Thomas Bach tested his bed during his visit to the Olympic Village last year, source: IOC Media)

Of course, the most popular thing these days is definitely the way to cool off in the Olympic Village - in order to reflect the concept of environmental protection, the organizing committee has used a "geothermal cooling system" instead of traditional air conditioning.

Similar to traditional domestic geothermal energy, water pipes will be laid in the floor of the athletes' dormitories to feed water from wells up to 70 meters deep (temperatures can be said to be as low as 4 degrees Celsius) from nearby geothermal power plants. According to Laurent Michaud, director of the Olympic and Paralympic Village in Paris, the system is expected to reduce indoor temperatures by 6 to 10 degrees Celsius compared to outdoors. At the same time, although the whole system is controlled by the building, each room will also have a temperature controller, which can fine-tune the temperature up and down by 2 degrees Celsius.

The problem is that, based on the experience of the past few years, the weather during the Paris Olympics is likely to be similar to that of Tokyo three years ago, with high temperatures and humidity. According to a report released by the French Public Health Agency in February, the number of direct and indirect deaths due to heat in the summer of 2023 exceeded 5,000.

That's why, even though officials at the Paris Olympics say they expect most rooms to be kept at 28 degrees Celsius when the outside temperature reaches 41 degrees Celsius (athletes will also need to close their blinds during the day to keep them at room temperature), while electric fans will also be installed. The Olympic delegations of many countries have made it clear that they "do not believe it" and will bring their own air conditioning to participate in the meeting.

Many countries will participate in the meeting with air conditioning

U.S. Olympic Committee chief officer Sarah Hirshland said at a briefing last week that the U.S. Olympic Committee will be responsible for equipping athletes' rooms with air conditioning.

Hirshland said this (air conditioning) is a very high priority in communications with athletes. Athletes see this as a key component of their performance ability, predictability and lifestyle habits.

According to media statistics earlier this month, Canada, the United Kingdom, Italy, Germany, Greece, Denmark, Australia and other countries have stated that they will provide portable air conditioning equipment for delegation members. These countries are either going to go to the competition with air conditioning, or they can buy directly in France.

Spyros Capralos, president of the Greek Olympic Committee, has publicly stated that he will buy air conditioning for athletes "at all costs". The Australian Olympic Committee expects to spend more than $100,000 to "keep athletes cool", and the head of the agency, Matt Carroll, has said that even though the French side is very appreciative of the lack of air conditioning due to carbon footprint considerations, the Olympics are a high-level competition and Australian athletes are not going to Paris for a "picnic".

It is reported that officials of the Japanese delegation also said that for "safety and security" reasons, athletes will be paid for cooling. Japanese officials revealed that the organizers will provide a list of additional facilities that will require an additional fee, and the Japanese delegation will choose to purchase them.

Of course, the issue of "whether to use air conditioning or not" once again shows the unevenness of the world. Donald Rukare, president of the Uganda Olympic Committee, told the media that "we don't have a deep wallet".

On the "air conditioning issue", the mayor of Paris, Anne Hidalgo, stressed: "I think we have to trust science on two fronts. The first is the fact that scientists tell us that we are on the edge of a (climate) cliff. Everyone, including athletes, must be aware of this. Second, when scientists help us build buildings that allow us to do without air conditioning, we must also trust them. ”

(Finance Associated Press Shi Zhengcheng)

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