Grandparents killed in wrong-way crash on Hwy. 401 identified
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Of the 21 cities to host the Winter Olympics, only Sapporo, Japan would be able to provide fair and safe conditions to stage them again by the end of the century if greenhouse gases are not dramatically reduced, said a University of Waterloo study released on Tuesday.
An international team of researchers, led by the University of Waterloo, reviewed historical climate data from the 1920s along with future climate change trends.
They determined that winter playgrounds such as St. Moritz and Lillehammer could become Olympic relics by the mid to late century, with unreliable conditions ruling them out as Games hosts.
Research revealed that the average February daytime temperature of host cities has steadily increased – from 0.4 Celsius at the Games held in the 1920s to the 1950s, to 3.1C at the Games during the 1960s to 1990s, and 6.3C in Games held in the 21st century, including next month's Beijing Games.
"If we continue on the trajectory we have now we end up with Sapporo being the only climate-reliable location by the end of the century and thereafter we have to look and see even when does Sapporo switch over," Daniel Scott, a professor of Geography and Environmental Management at Waterloo, told Reuters.
"Even by the mid-century the number of climate-reliable locations, at least the 21 hosts that we've had in the past, would be reduced."
Sapporo hosted the Games in 1972.
Europe has been the cradle of the Winter Olympics having hosted over half the Games, including the first in Chamonix in 1924 and the next after Beijing in Milan/Cortina d'Ampezzo.
But the Alpine regions of Europe have felt the impact of climate change and Scott said the study's message to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) is that they are going to have to be more flexible in the future when selecting a venue, turning to higher-and-higher elevations to run events like ski racing.
"Climate change is altering the geography of the Winter Olympic Games and will, unfortunately, take away some host cities that are famous for winter sport,” said Robert Steiger of the University of Innsbruck in Austria.
“Most host locations in Europe are projected to be marginal or not reliable as early as the 2050s, even in a low emission future."
Climate change has been on the IOC radar for some time, with the Olympic body adding sustainability as a third pillar of Olympism in 2014.
The IOC, according to the study, has one of the most ambitious emission commitments in sports and across all sectors.
It announced ahead of the United Nations Climate Conference in Glasgow that it aims to become ‘climate positive’ in 2024 by reducing its direct and indirect emissions by 30%.
Starting in 2030, Olympic host cities will be contractually obligated to be climate positive.
Researchers also surveyed international athletes and coaches and found that 89% felt changing weather patterns are affecting competition conditions, and 94% fear climate change will impact the future development of their sport.
The report also noted that higher crash and injury rates among snow sports athletes can be partially attributed to higher ambient temperatures and poor snow conditions.
The last three Winter Olympics have had the highest injury incidence rates recorded among alpine skiing, snowboarding and freestyle athletes (55% higher versus other Winter Games).
“The International Olympic Committee will have increasingly difficult decisions about where to award the Games," said Siyao Ma of the University of Arkansas.
"But the world’s best athletes, who have dedicated their lives to sports, deserve to have the Olympics located in places that can reliably deliver safe and fair competitions."
(Reporting by Steve Keating in Toronto. Editing by Toby Davis)
A 60-year-old man and a 55-year-old woman killed in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 earlier this week have been identified by the Consulate General of India in Toronto.
Three people have been arrested and charged in the killing of B.C. Sikh activist Hardeep Singh Nijjar – as authorities continue investigating potential connections to the Indian government.
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Quebec man who pleaded guilty to threatening Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Premier François Legault has been sentenced to 20 months in jail.
RCMP say human remains found in a rural area in central Saskatchewan may have been there for a decade or more.
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
As Wegovy becomes available to Canadians starting Monday, a medical expert is cautioning patients wanting to use the drug to lose weight that no medication is a ''magic bullet,' and the new medication is meant particularly for people who meet certain criteria related to obesity and weight.
Drew Carey took over as host of 'The Price Is Right' and hopes he’s there for life. 'I'm not going anywhere,' he told 'Entertainment Tonight' of the job he took over from longtime host Bob Barker in 2007.
Alberta Ballet's double-bill production of 'Der Wolf' and 'The Rite of Spring' marks not only its final show of the season, but the last production for twin sisters Alexandra and Jennifer Gibson.
A British Columbia mayor has been censured by city council – stripping him of his travel and lobbying budgets and removing him from city committees – for allegedly distributing a book that questions the history of Indigenous residential schools in Canada.
Three men in Quebec from the same family have fathered more than 600 children.
A group of SaskPower workers recently received special recognition at the legislature – for their efforts in repairing one of Saskatchewan's largest power plants after it was knocked offline for months following a serious flood last summer.
A police officer on Montreal's South Shore anonymously donated a kidney that wound up drastically changing the life of a schoolteacher living on dialysis.
Since 1932, Montreal's Henri Henri has been filled to the brim with every possible kind of hat, from newsboy caps to feathered fedoras.
Police in Oak Bay, B.C., had to close a stretch of road Sunday to help an elephant seal named Emerson get safely back into the water.
Out of more than 9,000 entries from over 2,000 breweries in 50 countries, a handful of B.C. brews landed on the podium at the World Beer Cup this week.
Raneem, 10, lives with a neurological condition and liver disease and needs Cholbam, a medication, for a longer and healthier life.