Indian athletes battling the soaring temperatures and lack of cooling in their rooms in the Paris Olympic Games Village have been provided with 40 portable air conditioners by the country’s sports ministry to make their stay comfortable.
Temperatures have soared in both Paris and Chateauroux, the two main Olympic Games venues.
Finally our Indian athletes got AC in games Village at the Paris Olympics, the authorities didn’t provide AC there and they have to face tough conditions in the humid weather there, so Sport’s Ministry of India installed 40 AC there on their own expense @IndiaSports @Olympics pic.twitter.com/oBcmVzAbyc
— vipul kashyap (@kashyapvipul) August 2, 2024
There are reports that temperatures have touched an unbearable 40 degrees Celsius on some days in Paris.
Even before the Games started, several contingents had expressed their concerns about the weather in Paris after the organisers said that they would shun air conditioning to cut the carbon footprint of the event.
Instead, the Games organising committee unveiled an underfloor cooling mechanism and built-in insulation to keep the temperatures down at the Games Village. However, unconvinced about the measures, the USA contingent travelled with portable conditioners.
Reports have suggested that other countries have also resorted to buying portable ACs to manage the heat. India has now joined the bandwagon.
“The decision was taken early on Friday and the cost is being funded by the Ministry,” the ministry source said.
“The ACs are plug and play units and athletes have already started using them. It is expected that with this they will have a more comfortable stay and get better rest which is much needed for a good performance,” he added.
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First Published: Aug 03 2024 | 12:04 PM IST