The International Olympic Committee has voted to approve the principle of choosing the hosts of the 2030 and 2034 Winter Games at the same time. This will make it extremely difficult for Japan's northern city of Sapporo to win its possible bid to host the 2034 Games.

The IOC members took the vote on Sunday, the first day of their three-day general meeting in Mumbai, India.

The lists of host candidates for the two successive Winter Games will be narrowed down as early as next month. Hosts will be officially selected during an IOC general meeting to be convened next summer, when the Paris Games will take place.

The double-allocation proposal came from a commission that advises the IOC Executive Board regarding future Winter Olympic hosts.

The commission says the simultaneous selection is necessary to secure host candidates at an early date because the pool of potential hosts is expected to shrink due to the impact of climate change. Precipitation of natural snow has been dwindling in some areas amid rising temperatures.

The commission also says discussion will continue on another proposal to select a group of hosts that would stage the Games in rotation.

Last week, Sapporo and the Japanese Olympic Committee announced the withdrawal of their bid to host the 2030 Games, citing a lack of people's understanding due to bid-rigging and bribery scandals over the 2021 Tokyo Games. They instead switched to discussing the possibility of hosting the Games in 2034 or later.

Salt Lake City in the United States is now a major candidate to host the 2034 Games, thanks to local support.