By 2100, One in Eight Ski Resorts Worldwide Could Be Snow-Free

As the effects of climate change intensify, ski resorts may disappear in many parts of the world.

Thirteen percent of ski areas are projected to completely lose their natural annual snow cover by 2100, according to a study predicting future snowfall changes in seven regions around the world.

Meanwhile, research shows that 20% of ski resorts around the world will lose more than half of their snow days from 2071 to 2100 compared to historical norms.

Australia is in the worst position, with more than three-quarters of its snow days expected to be lost by the end of the century.

Veronica Mitterwallner The professor at Germany's Bayreuth University who led the study said the results show what we are already starting to see.

“More ski resorts are closing due to lack of snow, and winter sports events, especially in low-lying areas, are being held on strips of white snow surrounded by green landscapes,” she says.

Mitterwallner and his colleagues modeled greenhouse gas emissions for the remainder of this century in three scenarios: low, medium, and high.

They found that the number of annual snow days in seven major mountain regions where downhill skiing occurs would decrease significantly globally under all three scenarios.

Under the moderate emissions scenario, the study predicts that the average number of snowy days per year would decrease by 43% in the Andes, 37% in the Appalachians, 78% in the Australian Alps, and 42% and 50% in the European Alps. Compared to prehistoric times, by the end of this century it was 23 percent in the Japanese Alps, 23 percent in the Rocky Mountains, and 51 percent in New Zealand's Southern Alps. The only major skiing country that could not be modeled due to lack of data was China.

Mitterwallner and others warn that as ski areas are forced to retreat to higher and more remote areas, resort operators will be under increasing pressure to expand into threatened mountain ecosystems. ing.

“High-altitude species are already under pressure due to the pace of human-induced climate change,” Mitterwallner says. “Furthermore, alpine skiing relies on infrastructure construction, slope preparation, and other forms of land degradation, which certainly impacts alpine ecosystems.”

Janet Lindsey Researchers at the Australian National University in Canberra say the scenario modeled in the paper is realistic. “We are already moving further into a situation where the environment is much warmer than before, and it will continue to warm even more,” Lindesay said.

“We expect snow-friendly conditions to continue and snowfall amounts to decrease everywhere.”