Heat Spells Death for Ice Hockey
All world famous players and athletes are said to have started their career in small open spaces around their homes, and not in humongous stadiums and professional grounds. Almost all senior Ice Hockey players used to play initially at frozen lakes and backyard rinks and it seems like future ice hockey players may miss all the childhood excitement. A recent study has revealed that warmer temperatures are closing down all these ice grounds.
The reason is pretty evident. It is global warming and the green house effect. The Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa, which is the world’s longest skating rink was closed down, due to higher seasonal temperature and this is quite an example of the sad scenario.
The gradual warming of the earth caused by burning fossil fuels could eventually cause the most loved outdoor activity, Ice Hockey, to perish in the coming decades. Regions that are being hit the hardest are the Prairies, south eastern British Columbia and southern Ontario and Quebec.
Using historical weather data from more than 140 weather stations acrossCanadasince the 1950s, the researchers calculated the annual start date and length of the outdoor skating season.
The beginning of the season is considered the last of three days where the maximum temperature does not exceed -5 C, as it takes several cold days to lay the initial ice on the rink.
They then looked at how many days in January and February were cold enough to skate on backyard or community rinks built on the ground or snow. Since 1950, winter temperatures in Canada have increased by more than 2.5 degree Celsius and that is three times the globally-averaged warming attributed to global warming caused by human activity all around the world.
In order to ensure access to backyard rinks by Canada’s future hockey stars, the country needs to tackle warming by reducing greenhouse emissions at any cost. What do you have to say?
