Annual Snow Days Expected To Significantly Decrease Worldwide Due To Climate Change, Study Says

By the end of the century, climate change will lead one out of every eight ski destinations to lose all of their natural snow cover.

The alarming prognosis indicates that snow cover will decrease in seven main mountainous ski locations throughout the world, potentially affecting local businesses, fragile species, and winter sports enthusiasts alike.

Researchers used geographic data on current ski area locations and snow cover days with climate models that forecast what might happen under various emissions scenarios.

They examined seven mountain ranges around the world and three greenhouse gas emission scenarios were modelled: low, medium, and high.

They discovered that yearly snow cover days in the seven major mountain locations with downhill skiing will decline significantly in all three scenarios.

Under the medium-emissions scenario, the study predicts that mean annual snow cover days will decline by 43% in the Andes, 37% in the Appalachians, 78% in the Australian Alps, 42% in the European Alps, 50% in the Japanese Alps, 23% in the Rocky Mountains, and 51% in New Zealand's Southern Alps by the end of the century compared to historic levels.

The only significant skiing nation that could not be modelled due to a lack of data was China.

Overall, researchers discovered that annual snow days will "significantly decrease worldwide with climate change."

They anticipate that the Southern Hemisphere would be struck the hardest, with 78% of ski slopes in the Australian Alps losing more than half of their typical annual snow days by 2100.

The United States will be affected as well, with the Appalachians losing 37% of their average annual snow cover days and the Rocky Mountains losing 23%.

The researchers highlight that, while losing comparable amounts of snow days to other ranges, the Rockies will "remain relatively snow reliable" and can expect an average of 202 snow cover days per year by the end of the century.

Economic Implications

The study predicts that by the end of the century, 13 percent of current ski areas will experience a 100 percent decrease in snow cover days, and another 20 percent will experience at least a 50 percent decrease.

High-population areas will be more affected than low-population areas, and year-round snow cover in current ski areas "will nearly disappear worldwide," according to the researchers.

Instead, ski areas will likely cluster at higher elevations, and the ski season may shift closer to spring.

Artificial snowmaking and physical adaptations like slope contouring may decrease the melt, but they are unlikely to offset snow cover loss in the most catastrophic climatic scenarios.

The decrease in annual snow days is "socio-economically and ecologically concerning," according to the researchers, noting potential economic implications on ski resorts and local economies, declining biodiversity in mountain areas, and the ski industry's expansion into milder regions as snow disappears.

"In addition, alpine skiing relies on the construction of infrastructure, grooming of slopes and other forms of land degradation, which is certainly impacting alpine ecosystems," said Veronika Mitterwallner at the University of Bayreuth in Germany, who led the study.