Why we’re hot tip for Olympics 2116

SCOTS fans of the Olympics could see the country become a regular Games host nation – if they can wait 100 years.

Based on projected climate change, scientists at the University of California have predicted that by 2085 only 33 cities will be cool enough to host the summer Olympics.

And by the 22nd century, it’s claimed only Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and Dublin will be capable of safely staging the Games without putting athletes at risk of heat exhaustion.

To narrow down host cities, lead author Kirk Smith first ruled out smaller ones which lack infrastructure and those at too high an altitude, which could cause performance issues. The paper also only examined cities in the northern hemisphere, which contains nearly 90 per cent of the world’s population.

The team focused on the marathon as this is ‘the most demanding endurance event, and thus provides a fair indication of whether conditions are likely to be safe for any other Olympic event’.

Based on heat, humidity and wind speed, they determined that 26c (78.8f) was the maximum safe temperature for the race. They then used climate change models to predict the temperature of host cities by the summer 2085.

They found only 33 cities with a less than 10 per cent chance of having to cancel the marathon owing to heat above 26c.

Of the viable cities, 15 are in the UK. They include London, Birmingham, Manchester and Liverpool as well as Edinburgh and Glasgow. But the study adds: ‘Projections out to the early 22nd century, which carry even more uncertainty, suggest the last cities in the northern hemisphere with lowrisk summer conditions for the games will be Belfast, Dublin, Edinburgh and Glasgow.’