The Olympics, affected by heat and pollution

Heatwave and pollution leave their mark on the current edition of the Olympic Games. The first problems started to appear, and here it is not only a matter of thermal discomfort, but also of the postponement of some tests. The thermometers indicated very high values in the last two days in the south of France due to a heat wave that is already affecting several areas where some Olympic competitions are held. "In most of the southern half of the country, the heat will intensify considerably" and the threshold of 40 degrees Celsius could be exceeded in certain regions, Meteo-France reported. The heat-affected city of Bordeaux is hosting the women's and men's Olympic soccer matches. In Marseille, which hosts the yachting trials, Sunday was already marked by high heat, humidity and the almost complete absence of wind. In Paris and its surroundings, where most of the Olympic trials take place, "the threshold of 35 degrees Celsius was reached on Tuesday, and the night from Tuesday to Wednesday will be very warm, with minimum temperatures around 22 degrees Celsius", he said Meteo-France. The representatives of the Paris Region announced on Monday the activation of an anti-heatwave plan in Ile-de-France, where "air quality will be poor", according to the Airparif Observatory. The regional plan includes distributing more than 2.5 million water bottles on public transport and "nearly 200,000 caps, fans and water bottles" for Olympic spectators. "Heat waves are an emblematic manifestation of our climate change, they are increasingly intense, more frequent, earlier and longer," climatologist Matthieu Sorel emphasized in a press conference organized by Meteo-France, speaking about this first episode of heatwave recorded this year in France.

On the other hand, the men's triathlon scheduled for Tuesday, at 09:00, was postponed until Wednesday, at 11:45, due to the still inadequate water quality, according to the latest results of the analyses, reports lequipe.fr. After heavy rains on July 26 and 27 - especially during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games - the water quality of the Seine deteriorated and training for the swimming events was already canceled on Sunday and Monday. However, although a reserve day (August 2) was set for a possible postponement of the events, the organizers initially decided to hold the men's race immediately after the women's race, scheduled for Wednesday, also at 09:00. "This is the magic of the Olympics," said Benjamin Maze, the head of the French triathlon federation, who told his athletes that their event had been postponed while they were having breakfast, adding that "in the end, it didn't change big deal, except that everyone had to get up early. We will return to a normal pre-competition day, with a swim (in the pool) in the morning".

The representative of Romania, Felix Duchampt, will also participate in the triathlon event.