Just two years after covid-19 forced the International Olympic Committee to postpone the 2020 Olympics, another health hazard—this one indisputably humanmade—threatens to endanger athletes at the 2022 Beijing Winter Games. Less than two weeks out from the events, recently released data shows dangerously high pollution levels are clouding Beijing’s skies.
Officials are reportedly taking coordinated action in a last-minute push to improve air quality ahead of the event. But with just 11 days until the first events are scheduled to start, the country is at risk of exposing athletes to smog-filled ski slopes, even as the country boasts about its pledge to power the games completely from renewable energy.
