As winter in Australia saw grassy slopes instead of snowy mountains, it became evident that climate change is already impacting ski resorts globally.

A study, which models the effects of a warming planet on European ski resorts, provides a stark warning about the consequences of climate change.

Europe boasts about half of the world’s ski resorts, all heavily reliant on consistent and predictable snowfall. Published in the journal Nature Climate Change, the research indicates that 53 percent of European ski resorts face a “very high risk” of insufficient snow supply with less than 2 degrees Celsius of global warming above pre-industrial levels.

This risk jumps to a staggering 98 percent with less than 4 degrees Celsius of warming. Current global temperatures are already at 1.2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

Very high risk

Dr. Samuel Morin, the lead author from France’s National Centre for Meteorological Research, explained that this “very high risk” assessment is based on the frequency of challenging conditions, such as snow-poor winters, rather than average snow conditions. He likened it to a heatwave, where what matters is the frequency of extreme events.

The decline in snowfall is primarily due to warming temperatures causing precipitation to fall as rain rather than snow. Artificial snowmaking is an option to mitigate this, but it comes at a cost. The study found that artificial snowmaking could reduce the number of resorts at “very high risk” to 27 percent under 2 degrees Celsius of warming and 71 percent under 4 degrees Celsius. However, this approach results in a 20 to 40 percent increase in water demand, which in turn drives up energy consumption and carbon emissions.

The ski industry and governments now face the challenge of adapting to climate change while reducing emissions, as ski tourism contributes to climate change through factors like transportation and housing.

In Australia, the impact of climate change on ski resorts has been evident since the 1950s, leading to a decline in snow depth and duration of the snow season. The number of snowfall days has also decreased, resulting in more unpredictable conditions.

Experts point out that while there will still be good snow days, the changing climate leads to a greater variability between boom years with heavy snowfall and bust years with less snow, making it challenging for ski resorts to predict and manage snow conditions.