Paris 2026 Winter Olympics Faces Snowpack Crisis as Alps Record Driest March

With less than ten months until the opening ceremony, French organizers are confronting a historic snowpack deficit across Alpine venues following the driest March on record in the region. Snowpack at 1,800 meters is 61% below the long-term average. Artificial snowmaking capacity will be expanded, but environmentalists have filed a legal challenge over water use.

The IOC said contingency venues in Austria and Switzerland remain on standby and that no events have been formally relocated. French officials convened an emergency meeting to assess the risk to the Games.