CLIMATE CHANGE AT WORK: Ski resorts across Europe are closing
The lack of snow is causing concern for ski resorts across Europe
Many lower-altitude ski resorts across Europe are closing – causing many to worry about short-term vacation plans and long-term economic impacts, especially in mountain regions, foreign media reports.
France experienced its warmest weather since 1997 with temperatures at least 7 or 8 degrees above normal, leading to a lack of snow in the mountains.
Splügen-Tambo, was one of the first resorts to be closed on Monday, according to a statement:
“Unfortunately, due to the lack of snow, heavy rainfall and high temperatures, we have to close our ski resort until further notice. We can no longer prepare the tracks because we have too much water. . . and the snow does not freeze at night,” Bizlife reports.
“You still can’t get away from the fact that everywhere in the Alps the snow depth is below par at this stage of the season,” says one executive at a ski holiday company called Snow-Vise.
No snow – climate change at work
“More snow needs to fall again to avoid further problems…Climate change is at work,” he adds.
Such opportunities are evident throughout Europe, he says and adds that they experience the same situation as their neighbors – the Swiss, Italians and Austrians.
Isa Castelvi works as a ski and snowboard school manager in a resort in the Pyrenees.
Temperatures there, she tells CNN Travel, are more like spring than early January. Although there is some snow, it is not the “best” and the resort is feeling the impact, even if it is not closed and bookings are still coming in.
“We had a lot of cancellations,” adds Castelvi.
Only one of the three ski resorts and only a quarter of the ski slopes in the Pyrenees were open in December due to poor snow conditions.
Across the Alps in Switzerland, British retiree Mark Bennett lives in a small village near Lucerne, at the bottom of the Klevenalp-Stockhut ski area, and says he has no memory of anything like this.
“They closed the resort to try and keep the snow down for Christmas and New Year, but it’s all gone.” It was very sad – nothing like that has been seen, that is, that there are no people and crowds here during the holidays is a completely unusual situation”, says this pensioner.
