Rowing adaptation in a time of climate change

As an outside sport, rowing is acutely aware of the impact climate change has on the sport. In 2019 World Rowing joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), Sport for Climate Action initiative as a signatory to the Sports for Climate Action Framework.

Of course, changes in climate impact different parts of the world in different ways. In general terms there will be more extreme weather events, rising sea levels, flooding, drought and heat waves.

Rowing Canada Aviron CEO Terry Dillon notes; “There are clubs and waterways that we operate on that are very much under threat because of the effect of rising water levels and the changing weather patterns.”

The impact on rowing is also seen in falling water levels due to drought, changes in training and regatta schedules due to weather events and the impact of heat.

Climate researcher and professor at the ETH Zurich, Dr Ulrike Lohmann is a masters rower in Switzerland and has noticed the changing weather patterns in more regatta cancellations. “There’s more extreme weather in general, such as higher wind speeds which have affected regattas and training.

“From hearsay on rivers there been more problems with flooding because the current is too fast. In Basel (Switzerland), the current has been a problem in the past years, especially in spring with more flooding. Then with drought the Rhine water levels are too low (for rowing).”

Lohmann noted in 2022 the high-pressure system over Europe caused drought during the international rowing season. There has also been issues at regattas due to heat. Rowing has had to adapt.

“We had the Swiss Championships and a heat wave was coming so we changed the regatta programme. We started earlier and wore caps and kept tee-shirts on,” says Lohmann.

Lohmann says the expected change to temperature is 1.1 degrees Celsius globally by the end of the century. “With climate change there’s a shift to warmer temperatures and they (warmer temperatures also widen (around the globe). We’ll get once-in-100-year events occurring every 20 years.”

As rowing (and especially the international regatta season) is predominantly in the summer, World Rowing has enacted hot weather and heat safety guidelines for rowing training and rowing regattas. The guidelines recognise that humidity plays a big part along with air temperature. This highlights the use of the ‘Wet Bulb Globe Temperature’.

World Rowing Events Commission member Selwyn Jackson got interested in heat readings several years ago. “They have an instrument that reads ambient temperature, wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT), and the humidity.”

“Humidity is the biggest problem,” says Jackson. “One can handle 51 degrees (Celsius) if the humidity is only a few per cent.”

World Rowing’s Medical Commission has produced heat safety guidelines.

Chair of World Rowing’s Competitive Rowing Commission Rosie Mayglothling has been going to rowing regattas for decades and is fully aware of the necessity for climate change adaptation especially due to heat.

“We’re more mindful of it and more often, especially with the web bulb temperature,” says Mayglothling. “This years the Under 23 Championships were very warm and we were concerned that they couldn’t go ahead. There’s more concern now.”

For World Rowing events, Mayglothling says they’re aiming to be more prepared for weather events with contingency plans and alternatives. “We’re trying to be more organised.”

From Great Britain, Mayglothling is aware of the impact on rowing locally. These include low river levels impacting training. “We had the last big drought in the UK in 1976 and it hasn’t happened since.” This last summer there were portions of rivers and lakes where rowers train that were limited due to lower water levels. “Low water levels must be affecting some rowing clubs,” says Mayglothling.

So what can rowing do to adapt?

Perhaps choose regatta locations better, says Lohmann. For example avoid locations where there’s a chance of extreme heat.

“Rowing can’t do much,” says Lohmann. “The sport (in its present form) can’t go to virtual. To row against competitors you have to travel to the same place.”

But Lohmann does see coastal rowing as being able to better handle extreme weather events. And then there are numerous measures to help mitigate climate change. One very crucial one; “Avoid flying,” says Lohmann.