Climate change is redrawing the map of winter. As temperatures rise, the places cold and snowy enough to host the Winter Olympics are disappearing.
The Winter Olympics rely on 93 venues with the climate and infrastructure to host. By mid-century, more than half could lose the winters they depend on.
The white overlay marks regions where February conditions still support reliable snow for winter sports, based on average temperature and precipitation from climate models. As the planet warms, this zone shrinks dramatically, retreating toward the poles and higher elevations.
Most Olympic-capable venues cluster in three key regions: the European Alps, the North American Rockies, and the mountains of Japan.
Europe's Alps host the densest cluster of Olympic-capable venues. From Chamonix to Cortina, these mountains have defined winter sport for over a century.
But many iconic venues sit below 1,000 meters, where rising temperatures hit hardest.
North America's Rocky Mountains are home to venues like Beaver Creek, Aspen, and Salt Lake City, host of the 2002 and upcoming 2034 Games.
High elevations above 2,000 meters give these venues a longer runway, but the American West is warming faster than the global average.
Hokkaido's Sapporo and Niseko benefit from massive Sea of Japan effect snowfall, making them among the most snow-reliable venues on Earth.
Niseko is one of only four sites projected to remain viable on natural snow alone through the 2050s.
Back at the global view, the map is still mostly blue.
But climate projections tell a very different story about what lies ahead.
Under current emissions trajectories, the picture shifts dramatically within a generation.
Past Olympic hosts like Vancouver, Lillehammer, and Oslo drop out entirely.
The map becomes stark. Most of the world's winter sports infrastructure falls outside viable snow conditions.
Even with snowmaking, fewer than half the venues remain viable.
Without artificial snow, only 4 venues survive by the 2050s:
Val d'Isère, Courchevel, Niseko, and Terskol.
By the 2080s, only Niseko and Terskol remain.
The 2022 Beijing Games already used 100% artificial snow, that will become the norm soon.
Step through time, toggle snowmaking conditions, zoom to regions, and hover any venue for details.