By FABRICE COFFRINI / AFP
Researchers have carried out an analysis in one of Switzerland's largest ski areas to determine whether there will still be snow in the month of December in the coming decades. Their research shows that given the current climate scenario, snowmaking is not a viable long-term solution.
Researchers have carried out an analysis in one of Switzerland's largest ski areas to determine whether there will still be snow in the month of December in the coming decades. Their research shows that given the current climate scenario, snowmaking is not a viable long-term solution.
You may have noticed it if you're used to skiing in Europe during the Christmas vacations: snowy resorts are becoming increasingly rare at this time of year. This is a consequence of climate change, which some resorts try to counter with snowmaking using snow guns or cannons. This approach, which is increasingly decried, is also referred to as 'artificial snow.'
In addition to the key issues of intensive water and energy consumption that artificial snow production represents, there is no guarantee that this method will be sufficient if greenhouse gas emissions continue at their current rate, as a recent study in Switzerland has shown. Researchers at the University of Basel have calculated the extent to which snowmaking could maintain white slopes in Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis, a large ski area located 180 km from Bern.
According to the results of their study, published in the International Journal of Biometeorology, snowmaking could provide for a 100-day ski season until the end of the century, at least in the highest parts of the resort (i.e., at an altitude of 1,800 meters above sea level and higher). But for this to happen, specific weather conditions will need to be met.
"The laws of physics set clear limits for snowmaking," Dr. Erika Hiltbrunner, a researcher at the University of Basel's Department of Environmental Sciences and co-author of the study, points out in a statement. "It must not be too warm or too humid, otherwise there will not be enough evaporation cooling for the sprayed water to freeze in the air and come down as snow," the researcher continued. Indeed, warming winters makes it increasingly difficult, if not impossible, to produce artificial snow.
540 million liters of water
Not to mention the water consumption necessary for the artificial snowmaking. According to the researchers, it could increase by about 80% for the entire Swiss resort. They project that for an average winter near the end of the century, about 540 million liters of water would be required, compared to 300 million liters at present, the study notes. An estimate that, moreover, does not take into account extreme weather events. In the winter of 2017 (memorable for its low snowfall), for example, the water requirements of the snow guns tripled in one of the three sub-zones of Andermatt-Sedrun-Disentis.
Taking all these factors into account, the increase in snow cover will inexorably drive up costs for the resorts, and there's a large chance that these additional costs will be reflected in the price of ski vacations. "Sooner or later, people with average incomes will simply no longer be able to afford them," warns Erika Hiltbrunner.
The gradual disappearance of mountain snow cover caused by climate change is not only being observed in Europe. According to another study published in January 2022, some mountain ranges in the western United States could be almost completely devoid of snow in about 60 years, if global greenhouse gas emissions are not rapidly reduced.
