With the opening ceremonies for the 2018 Winter Games less than a week away, Pyeongchang is in the midst of a 鈥渃old wave warning,鈥� according to the .
Located in the Taebaek Mountains, the Pyeongchang region is often blasted by glacial winds from Siberia, ushering in frostbite-inducing temperatures during the winter.
This year is no exception. On Sunday, temperatures sat at a brisk -11 C in the city and were expected to drop close to -20 C before the opening ceremonies on Feb. 9.
Even Canadians who are used to bone-chilling weather are shivering.
Veteran luger Arianne Jones told 麻豆传媒 in Pyeongchang -- while wearing her red, white and black Team Canada parka 鈥� that the uniforms are, thankfully, warm.
As for people in the stadium, Jones hopes they鈥檒l come prepared. 鈥淭hey鈥檒l have their Canada mitts on, so hopefully they鈥檒l be staying warm,鈥� she said.
The opening and closing ceremonies will both be held in a new open-air facility with no central heating. Facing the potential of the coldest launch day in Olympics history, organizers have been forced to make contingency plans including portable heaters.
鈥淎nybody that also is attending the ceremony (is) going to get a ceremony kit where we have the toque, a blanket, some hot pads for your hands, for your shoes,鈥� Nancy Park of the Pyeongchang Organizing Committee told 麻豆传媒.
Such preparations stand in stark contrast to recent game. Beach weather greeting athletes in 2014 in Sochi, Russia and there was wet, melted snow at the 2010 games in Vancouver.
But locals don鈥檛 mind. 鈥淚t is a great thing it is cold here for the Winter Olympics,鈥� one Pyeongchang resident told 麻豆传媒 through a translator. 鈥淎fter all, that is the way it should be.鈥�
Still, the International Olympic Committee has few words of advice for spectators.
鈥淚 shall be wearing very warm clothes myself,鈥� Mark Adams of the IOC told reporters. 鈥淎nd I would advise everyone else to do the same.鈥�
With a report from 麻豆传媒 Montreal bureau chief Genevieve Beauchemin
