The International Olympic Committee(IOC) is actively considering moving future Winter Olympics to January, as warmer winters and less snowfall threaten the viability of holding the games in the current February slot.

Karl Stoss, who heads the IOC's Olympic Programme Working Group, told reporters in Milan, Italy, on Wednesday that they will be discussing ways to hold the Winter Olympics a little bit earlier “because it has an implication for the Paralympics as well.”

The Winter Paralympic Games are typically held in March, a few weeks after the Winter Olympic Games.

Stoss said March is very late because the sun is strong enough to melt snow.

The last time the Winter Olympics kicked off in January was in 1964 in Innsbruck, Austria.

According to an IOC study, by 2040, only 10 countries around the world will be able to host snow sports for the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

The 2022 Winter Olympics held in Beijing was the first to use virtually 100 percent artificial snow, deploying more than 100 snowplows and 300 snow canons to cover ski slopes.