The IBU confirmed that it had updated the planned agenda of races due to the ongoing cold weather in Alberta.

The men's and women's individual events are set to take place tomorrow but have been shortened from 20 kilometres and 15km to 15km and 12.5km respectively.

Relay races, initially scheduled for Saturday (February 9), have been brought forward to Friday (February 8).

Sprints have replaced mass starts and are due to be staged on Saturday instead of Sunday (February 10).

The change has been made so Sunday can be reserved for any events postponed because of the weather conditions.

Under IBU rules, competitions must not be started if the air temperature dips below minus 20 degrees Celsius measured at the coldest part of the tracks.

If it is colder than minus 15, wind chill and humidity must be considered before starting the competition.

Daytime temperatures have hovered around the minus 27 degrees Celsius mark in Canmore this week, dropping to minus 31 in the evening.

Start times have also changed to ensure athletes compete in higher temperatures.

"This is a tentative schedule, which might see further changes depending on the temperatures in the forthcoming days," said IBU race director Borut Nunar.

"We have agreed on these changes with the teams, the local Organising Committee, the medical delegate and the broadcasters. 

"Our highest priority is to guarantee the health of our athletes and carry out fair and safe competitions. 

"We have cut out the coldest parts of the course and changed the start times for some events to a later hour to have higher temperatures. 

"The free Sunday gives us some more flexibility in case the temperatures wouldn’t allow competitions earlier."