The Winter Olympics Need Artificial Snow, But It Comes With a Climate Impact

Just before the Winter Olympics kicked off, Cortina d’Ampezzo, the Dolomite town that will play host to a number of the Games’ alpine events, received a healthy dusting of fresh snow, easing earlier concerns about snow reliability after a warm start to the winter. But organizers have already produced over 56 million cubic feet of fake snow to create the conditions athletes expect.

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It’s nothing new. Machine-made snow has been used by ski resorts for...