The 2018 Winter Olympics may set a record for being the coldest since the 1994 games.

2018年平昌冬奥会可能将成为1994年冬奥会以来最冷的一届。

Concerned athletes are already shivering on social media, so what will seriously sub-zero temperatures mean for events, for the equipment, and for the competitors and fans getting ready for 17 days of action?

运动员们在社交媒体上表达了担忧之情。那么在17天的赛程中，如此严寒的天气对赛事、比赛装备、运动员和观众又将意味着什么呢？

Between -2C and -5C for the opening ceremony - starting at 20:00 local time on Friday- according to the Korean Meteorological Administration's news conference on Wednesday.

根据韩国气象局周三新闻发布会的消息，平昌冬奥会当地时间2月9日晚8点举行时，气温在零下2至零下5摄氏度。

The agency says this is "on par¹" with average February temperatures in previous years of around 0C with temperatures at night getting down to around -10C. To date, the 1994 edition in Lillehammer, Norway, was the coldest Games on record with a low of -11C.

气象局表示，这与近几年平昌2月份大约0度、夜间低至零下10度的平均气温大致相当。迄今为止，1994年挪威利勒哈默尔冬奥会是史上最冷的冬奥会，气温达到破纪录的零下11度。

At nearly half a mile above sea level, Pyeongchang is regarded as one of the coldest regions of South Korea, and is Earth's coldest location for its latitude².

平昌海拔约0.5英里（约合0.8千米），是韩国最寒冷的地区之一，也是地球同纬度最冷的地区。

It's the windchill factor.

这是因为风寒因素。

At the opening ceremony rehearsal³ on Saturday, biting winds dropped the temperature to -23C. The agency said spectators should "brace⁴ themselves" and Olympics officials have warned everyone attending to "wrap up and prepare properly".

在上周六的开幕式彩排上，刺骨的寒风使温度下降到零下23度。气象局表示，观众要“做好准备”，奥委会官员也提醒参加的所有人“穿得暖暖和和的，做好适当的防寒。”

面对气温的骤降，国际奥委会主席巴赫在4日当天的发布会上，还和到场媒体记者开起了玩笑。

太冷却不下雪？只好用假雪

Because of the freezing temperatures, Pyeongchang is susceptible⁵ to variable levels of snowfall. Major snowstorms are a rarity in the area, and in February 2017 it snowed on just seven days with an average snowfall of 6.3cm.

由于气温达到冰点，平昌易受各种程度降雪的影响，但却很少下大雪。2017年2月，平昌就下了7天雪，平均降雪量6.3厘米。

It's a concern shared by Games organisers who, as a result, have brought in snow cannons⁶ to produce it artificially at a cost of £4.4m.

主办方为此感到担忧，因此他们搬来了雪炮来造雪，耗资440万英镑（约合3847万元人民币）。

At the Yongpyong Alpine⁷ Centre - which will host slalom and giant slalom alpine skiing races - 250 snow guns served by three pumping stations have been installed.

在平昌高山滑雪中心，主办方已安装了三台泵站，用于支持250个雪炮造雪。这里将举行障碍滑雪赛和大回转高山滑雪赛。

连加拿大运动员都觉得太冷了，运动员如何应对？

"The wind is the worst - you walk around the Olympic village and it is like a nightmare," says Canadian skeleton racer Kevin Boyer.

加拿大俯式冰橇选手凯文-波伊尔说：“风刮得太冷了，在奥运村四处走走简直是噩梦般的经历。”

"It's funny because coming from Canada we talk about being used to the cold but this is a cold we haven't seen before."

“我们来自加拿大，习惯了严寒，但还没感受过这种寒冷，挺好玩的。”

The first real test will be Friday's opening ceremony, with reports that some athletes may miss it altogether. The Italian team has already told any staff with existing health issues to skip the curtain-raiser and has reminded its athletes to keep moving at all times.

第一次的真正考验将是周五的开幕式。有报道称，一些运动员将集体缺席。意大利队已经告知有健康问题的成员不要参加开幕式，并提醒运动员不停地活动身体。

The US team have specially⁸ heated jackets for the opening ceremony, while Australian freestyle skier⁹ Lydia Lassila has turned down the opportunity to carry her nation's flag into the opening ceremony to avoid the cold before competition.

美国队为开幕式特制了保温夹克，澳大利亚自由式滑雪选手莉迪亚-拉希亚拒绝在开幕式当旗手，免得在赛前感冒。

Team GB have, after a "significant" amount of planning, designed a kit¹⁰ geared around both "performance and warmth".

英国队做好了周密准备，设计了同时兼顾“比赛成绩和保暖”的赛场用品。

但还是有英国选手吐槽说，冷得像到了波罗的海国家：

比赛装备会不会有影响？

"One of the coaches said they are throwing the skis out after today," said ski course technician Craig Randell, overseeing practice on Wednesday. "You can't do anything about it, but with the cold temperatures the snow adheres to the ski base and twists it.

滑雪场技术人员克雷格-兰德尔周三在观看运动员练习时说：“一位教练说，今天过后就得把滑雪板扔掉了。没有办法，气温太低，雪附着在滑雪板底部，把它弄坏了。”

"They are turning their skis to garbage real fast."

“滑雪板用不了多久就得被扔进垃圾堆。”

Austrian alpine skier Marcel Hirscher added: "Snow crystals get really sharp when temperatures go to -20C. It's the same as lighting¹¹ a fire and burning your ski base because the snow crystals get such sharp edges."

奥地利高山滑雪选手马塞尔-赫希尔补充说：“气温达到零下20度时雪晶非常锋利，和点火烧坏滑雪板底部的效果一样，因为雪晶有锐利的边缘。”

Such icy surfaces can make competing difficult, with skiers and snowboarders struggling to dig their edges in to make turns. That said, if the ice is smooth it makes for the ultimate piste condition for the speed skiing events of downhill and super-G.

这种冰面也增加了比赛难度，滑雪选手很难在冰面上转弯。也就是说，对滑降赛和超大回转滑雪等快速滑雪比赛来说，平滑的冰面是最理想的场地。

对观众来说意味着什么？

The Pyeongchang Olympic Stadium - where the opening and closing ceremonies will take place - was built without a roof in order to save time, but it's a decision that organisers could come to regret given the current temperature forecast.

本届冬奥会开闭幕式将在平昌奥林匹克体育场举行，为了节约建筑时间，体育场没有顶棚。现在预报气温如此之低，主办方会后悔的。

Costing $58m to build, the stadium also lacks central heating as it was deemed too expensive for the arena¹², which will be dismantled¹³ after the conclusion of March's Winter Paralympic Games.

体育场耗资5800万美元（约合3.64亿人民币），却没有中央供暖，因为主办方认为这太费钱。3月份的冬季残奥会结束后，体育场就要拆除了。

According to reports, six people who attended a concert at the pentagonal stadium in December were treated for hypothermia, while others huddled¹⁴ in bathrooms to take a break from the icy cold.

据报道，去年12月有6名在这个五角形体育场参加音乐会的人得了低体温症，还有一些人为了避寒，干脆躲在卫生间里。

As a result, each of the 43,000 spectators expected to attend the opening ceremony on Friday will receive heating pads, a blanket, a warm seat cushion and a raincoat, while 18 heat shelters, 40 large heaters and windshields have been put up.

因此，周五4.3万名开幕式现场观众将领到发热贴、毛毯、发热坐垫和雨衣。另外，主办方还搭建了18个取暖休息室，添置了40个大型加热器和挡风罩。

Organisers are also planning audience participation¹⁵ during pre-ceremony entertainment in order to keep spectators as warm as possible.

为了让观众尽可能暖和一些，主办方还计划开幕式之前举行一些娱乐活动，让观众参与一下，“热热身”。