The world’s largest natural skating rink is closed because it’s too warm

The Rideau Canal Skateway in Ottawa — the world’s largest natural ice skating rink and part of a UNESCO World Heritage site — may not open this winter as relatively warm temperatures in the Canadian capital put outdoor activities and other long-standing traditions on thin ice.

If the skateway remains shuttered through the season — which typically runs from January through early March — it will be the first winter in a half-century that Ottawans miss gliding on the 4.8-mile ice path. (The entire canal is 126 miles long.) The delay has raised fears in a region familiar with biting cold that climate change is whittling away at not just glaciers and coastlines, but also culture and ordinary life.