The Tokyo 2020 Olympic officially kicked off on July 23rd against the controversial backdrop of surging covid-19 cases and an eerily quiet Tokyo city. On top of this, there are mounting concerns and evidence of how climate change related extreme heat and high levels of humidity are posing risks and impacting athletes at these Olympic games.

The Rings of Fire report published in May 2021 and produced by the British Association for Sustainable Sport (BASIS) brings together scientists and athletes to discuss these risks and impacts. We sit down with two authors of the report: our very own Paloma Trascasa-Castro, PhD researcher from the Institute for Climate and Atmospheric Science, at the University of Leeds; and Mike Tipton, Professor of Human and Applied Physiology from the Extreme Environments Laboratory, at the University of Portsmouth.