Paris has been put on a major weather alert this evening with several Olympic events in jeopardy, including Andy Murray‘s bid for glory in men’s tennis doubles, after France‘s meteorological service warned of massive incoming storms.
Strong thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail and lightning are expected from 6:00pm local time over the French capital, the weather service announced in a bulletin this morning.
Such adverse weather would force event organisers to postpone a slew of top events, including Murray’s and Dan Evans’ second-round doubles clash on the Parisian clay, as well as the Women’s Rugby Sevens medal matches.
A host of other tennis matches at the French capital’s Roland Garros stadium, along with football, hockey and beach volleyball fixtures, could also be rained off.
Inclement weather has already triggered a series of delays and postponements at the Games,
It comes just hours after Games organisers were forced to postpone the men’s triathlon when pollution levels in the River Seine were deemed too high for competition.
Paris 2024 organisers have built flexibility into their schedule and have the ability to delay the races by several days – but they may be forced to cancel the swimming leg of the triathlon and turn the event into a ‘duathlon’ as a last resort.
Paris has been put on a major weather alert this evening with several Olympic events in jeopardy
Such adverse weather would force event organisers to postpone a slew of top events, including Andy Murray’s and Dan Evans’ second round doubles match, and the Women’s Rugby Sevens medal matches
Swimming training for triathletes was cancelled on Sunday and Monday and the decision was taken to move the men’s triathlon, which had been due to start at 8:00am local time today, to Wednesday
A general view of rain covers over the courts at Roland-Garros as rain stops play on the first day of the 2024 Paris Olympic Games in France. Picture date: Saturday July 27, 2024
Christophe Calas, a weather forecaster based at the Paris 2024 organising committee, told reporters that storms were moving towards Paris from central France and could hit this evening.
‘There’s still uncertainty on their trajectory, their intensity. We can’t say anything for certain,’ added Calas, who works for the French national forecaster Meteo France.
‘If there’s a storm over Paris tomorrow night that results in significant amounts of precipitation that would have an impact on water quality in the Seine,’ he added.
After months of speculation over whether the Seine would be clean enough to host an Olympic event, the World Triathlon governing body said last week that the water quality had improved to safe levels.
France spent roughly €1.4 billion on cleaning up the river in preparation for the Games, with several politicians – including Paris mayor Anne Hidalgo – diving into the water in poorly received PR stunts.
The operation was a colossal effort, taking huge strides towards improving water quality – and reviving hopes improvement was possible, after Jacques Chirac, then Mayor, failed to make the river clean enough to swim in in 1990.
Paris 2024 chief Tony Estanguet told a press conference this weekend he was still ‘very confident’ that swimming in the Seine would take place.
But the Olympic opening ceremony last Friday was marred by a torrential downpour that officials said washed more pollution and untreated sewage into the river, triggering another decline in water quality.
Strong thunderstorms, heavy rain, hail and lightning are expected from 6:00pm local time over the French capital, the weather service announced in a bulletin this morning
A view across the Seine River on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 on July 28, 2024 in Paris
People cover themselves from the rain as match is delayed due to wet weather conditions at the Olympic tennis event
Spectators look on, in the rain, during the men’s road cycling individual time trial during the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris, on July 27, 2024
Swimming training for the triathletes was cancelled on Sunday and Monday and the decision was taken to move the men’s race, which had been due to start at 8:00am local time today, to Wednesday.
A statement from World Triathlon said this coming Friday remains a contingency day if one or both of the races are unable to go ahead.
‘Tests carried out in the Seine today revealed water quality did not provide sufficient guarantees to allow the event to be held,’ the statement read.
‘Despite the improvement in the water quality levels, the readings at some points of the swim course are still above the acceptable limits.’
Open-water swimmer Leah Crisp revealed last week that she and her competitors were concerned about the race taking place in the River Seine, hoping there is a ‘plan B’.
A French water charity in April found ‘alarming levels of pollution’ in the Seine, sparking fears that the river would not be in a fit state to host the Games.
The Surfrider Foundation took 14 samples from the Seine over a six-month period and found the water to be potentially dangerous in all but one of their tests.
The measurements of E. coli and enterococci – bacteria which indicate the presence of faecal matter and can cause serious illnesses – were found to be double and at times triple the maximum permitted amounts.
