Sochi Organisers Reveal Plans to Combat Weather Issues

Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics organisers have revealed that they are planning a “hot snow” programme to overcome any warm weather that may affect their event.

The previous 2010 Vancouver winter games organisers were forced to fly and truck-in snow due to a shortage at the event. Fears that Sochi, apoplectic a Black Sea port city in southern Russia, enjoying a Mediterranean-type climate, may hit the same problems have been allied by organising chief Dmitry Chernyshenko.

In an interview with the BBC he stated: “We have a solid [weather] programme. The climate is a challenge, but the organisers have a strong programme to avoid any risk of cancellation of events because of the weather.”

He said that their “hot snow” programme would provide reliable snow cover in Sochi even at temperatures of up to +15 degrees.

Mr Chernyshenko said the organisers hoped to store enough snow from the previous winter season in case February 2014, when the games are being held, should prove to be unusually warm.

The organising head went on to say that there would also be much work to predict the weather, and if necessary to manage the cloud cover by artificial means.

“Rain is the enemy,” he said, but pointed out that there were numerous scientific institutes in Russia with decades of experience in tracking and observing weather patterns in mountainous areas.

“The Ministry of Defence in Moscow also has the technology to dissolve the [rain] clouds.”