CORTINA D’AMPEZZO: Olympic fans came to Cortina with heavy winter coats and gloves. Those coats were unzipped Sunday and gloves pocketed as snow melted from rooftops — signs of a warming world.
“I definitely thought we’d be wearing all the layers,” said Jay Tucker, who came from Virginia to cheer on Team USA and bought hand warmers and heated socks in preparation. “I don’t even have gloves on.”
The timing of winter, the amount of snowfall and temperatures are all less reliable and less predictable because Earth is warming at a record rate, said Shel Winkley, a Climate Central meteorologist. This poses a growing and significant challenge for organizers of winter sports; The International Olympic Committee said last week it could move up the start date for future Winter Games to January from February because of rising temperatures.
While the beginning of the 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Cortina truly had a wintry feel, as the town was blanketed in heavy snow. The temperature reached about 40 degrees Fahrenheit (4.5 degrees Celsius) Sunday afternoon. It felt hotter in the sun.
This type of February “warmth” for Cortina is made at least three times more likely due to climate change, Winkley said. In the 70 years since Cortina first held the Winter Games, February temperatures there have climbed 6.4 degrees Fahrenheit (3.6 degrees Celsius), he added.
