(CNN) Climate change could threaten the Olympic Games as we know them , according to a new study in The Lancet. Only eight cities outside of Western Europe would be viable places to host the Games by 2085, according to a model that the study's authors devised. "High-visibility international athletic events such as the Summer Olympics represent just a small fraction of heavy exertion outdoors," the article says. "Climate change is going to force us to change our behavior from the way things have always been done," Smith said. "If the world's most elite athletes need to be protected from climate change," the article says in closing, "what about the rest of us?"

Source: CNN August 17, 2016 05:48 UTC