BBC End of Snow: “How climate change threatens to close ski resorts”
1 day ago Eric Worrall 62 Comments
Essay by Eric Worrall
Will they ever tire of being wrong?
How climate change threatens to close ski resorts
By Isabelle Gerretsen 25th January 2023
From the Swiss Alps to the Rocky Mountains, ski resorts are grappling with the impacts of climate change. How are they adapting in a warming world?
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The Alps experienced record high temperatures over Christmas and New Year, reaching 20.9C (70F) in northwest Switzerland.
“It was exceptionally warm over Christmas and New Year,” says Stephanie Dijkman, director of Anzère tourism. “Nearly all the snow in the village was gone. I was quite worried.” People were unable to ski down to the village, she adds.
Fortunately, it started snowing again in early January, just in time for the arrival of the “real skiing fans” who book their trips outside of the holiday season and are hoping for “very good conditions”, she says.
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When temperatures rise, the atmosphere ends up holding more water vapour which leads to more rainfall, says Marie Cavitte, a glaciologist and climate researcher at the Catholic University of Louvain in Belgium. “[When] temperatures increase, [water vapour] falls as rain instead of falling as snow,” she adds. “That is what is happening at low altitude ski stations, which are below 1,600m (5,250ft). There we are seeing a lot more rain on snow events which increase the melting of existing snow.”
https://wattsupwiththat.com/2023/01/25/bbc-end-of-snow-how-climate-change-threatens-to-close-ski-resorts/
