European Ski Resorts and Climate Change

When you think of the Alps in winter snow immediately comes to mind. But those snow laden peaks that feature so often on Christmas Cards could soon become naked – rather like ice cream without the chocolate sauce. According to many scientists climate change will result in a dramatic decrease in snow on the Alps over the next 25 years, making the traditional ski holiday a thing of the past.

Alpine temperatures have increased by two degrees Celsius (35 Fahrenheit)since the 1970s and scientists are predicting that they will continue to rise. A 30 percent reduction in snowfall is predicted by 2020 and a 50 percent decline by 2050. For winter sports resorts, this could mean the loss of their livelihoods. A one degree Celsius (33 degrees Fahrenheit) increase would reduce snow by 10 percent and plus four degrees Celsius (39 degrees Fahrenheit) would halve the number of snow-reliable slopes in Switzerland, according to a recent OECD report. The study found that Germany was the most at risk, with a one degree Celsius rise leading to a 60 percent decrease in naturally snow-reliable areas.

A report commissioned by Halifax Insurance in January 2007 predicts that a reduction in snowfall would have not only environmental impacts such as an increase in avalanches and mudslides, but also economic impacts. Reduced snowfalls would drastically reduce the number of winter ski resorts and this in turn would increase the cost of visiting them. With 60-80 million tourists and 160 million ski days in France, Austria, Switzerland and Germany each year, tourism in the Alps has a large impact on the economy.

Germany's tallest mountain, the Zugspitze, is covered with heavy tarps in early May to protect the glacier from the sun. The process, which is meant to protect some 30,000 cubic meters (over 1 million cubic feet) of snow and ice, has been implemented every year since 1993. On a hot day, the glacier can lose as much as 10 centimeters (4 inches) of ice.

A study by Zurich university geographers forecast that within a generation up to 70 percent of the Swiss glaciers will have disappeared. The impact will be even more severe elsewhere where the Alps are not so high. Greenpeace blames climate change caused by the oil industry for the problem.

The weather in the German Alps was so unseasonably warm in the winter of 2006 that it wasn't even cold enough to produce artificial snow at times. Ski area operators have used snow cannons in the Alps to make up for dwindling natural snowfalls for years.

Fortunately the Alps are currently receiving excellent pre-season snowfalls. This has led to the first resort openings for 2007/08 and great snow conditions at the year-round glacier resorts.