The Rideau Canal Skateway, the world’s largest natural ice skating rink and a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is likely not to open this winter due to relatively high-season temperatures in Ottawa that have put outdoor activities on ice, to say the least. ice that they are an institution in Canada.

The National Capital Commission, which manages the canal, which traditionally turns into a giant skating rink in winter, said the rink would only open if “good ice” formed more than 30cm thick, which requires temperatures between -10 and -20. degrees Celsius for more than 10-14 consecutive days.

The rink’s staff attributed the delay to the opening to “above-seasonal temperatures” due to the climate crisis.

If conditions don’t work and the skating rink is closed this season, which runs from January to early March, it will be the first winter in half a century when Ottawa residents won’t be able to enjoy the ice rink for almost eight kilometers (out of 200 channels).

This development in a region accustomed to the cold raises fears that climate change is no longer only affecting glaciers, but also urban areas and the daily lives of their inhabitants.

For many, the canal ice rink means much more than an ordinary ice rink. Citizens talk about the “symbol of the city”, “a place of freedom and fresh air”, someone even compared it to “a friend who changes and gradually disappears.”

“The Rideau Canal and the festivals held across Canada to celebrate our winter lives are intimately tied to the minds, rituals and experiences of citizens,” said Jay Johnson, professor of kinesiology at the University of Manitoba. He adds that climate change is “eroding” activities such as backyard hockey and outings with family and friends on public ice rinks that are “symbolic to the Canadian experience.”

The ice rink was created in 1971 when a group of Capital Service workers used brooms and shovels to clear a small patch of ice over a canal. Over time, the track grew in width and length, and today its area corresponds to 90 ice arenas of Olympic size. According to Canadian media, more than 21,000 people visit it daily.

In 2005, the ice arena was recognized by the Guinness Book of Records as the largest physical arena in the world, and two years later was included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.

Ominous forecasts predict that winters in Ottawa will be reduced by five weeks by 2050, which local authorities acknowledge will affect the city’s iconic circuit.

Source: Washington Post/CNN.