Fwd: 🌎 VCN: Warming Winter Olympics

[John Nissen]

Dear Peter, 

The 6.4F translates to 3.6C from 1956 to 2025.  From 1980 to 2025, the slope is even steeper: while the global mean temperature rose about 1C, the high altitude alpine temperature rose about 4 times faster, i.e. similar to Arctic amplification.  I wonder whether albedo loss could have been driving this amplification, as it has in the Arctic.

And, Soumitra, is there a similar amplification in the Himalayas?

Best wishes, John

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From: VoLo Foundation <vo...@volofoundation.org>
Date: Fri, Jan 30, 2026 at 8:04 PM
Subject: 🌎 VCN: Warming Winter Olympics
To: <johnnis...@gmail.com>

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View this email in your browser Warming Winter Olympics   The 2026 Winter Olympics and Paralympic Games will take place in Northern Italy, with outdoor events centered in Cortina d’Ampezzo. But shifting winter conditions are making reliable snow and consistently cold temperatures harder to guarantee, even in the high-altitude Alps, forcing organizers to rely on more than 3 million cubic yards of artificial snow. According to an analysis from Climate Central, since Cortina last hosted the Games in 1956, February temperatures have risen 6.4°F (3.6°C) and snow depth has declined, with far fewer freezing days each year. Studies warn that these trends will sharply reduce the number of future host cities able to provide safe conditions, especially for the March Paralympic Games. 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