January 2007
Global Warming and Alpine Slopes
Unseasonably warm weather may be good for office banter, but the rising mercury could have serious consequences for Alpine ski resorts, a Parisian think tank recently advised. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has released a report on the projected snow cover of 666 Alpine slopes. Almost 90% of these had enough snow cover to operate for 100 days or more in recent years. As delayed openings this November illustrated, however, rising temperatures could lower this number. Experts predict a one-degree rise in average temperatures as early as 2020. This climate change would reduce the number of viable Alpine resorts to 500. A two-degree rise, which could occur by 2050, would make that number drop to 400. German resorts are most at risk, the OECD found, but all low-altitude European ski resorts are expected to lose business over the next few decades. In fact, Swiss banks are already refusing to lend money to ski resorts at altitudes lower than 1,500 meters. Though hardly a death sentence, this news will require the € 500 billion ski business to find innovative means of ensuring viability in the coming years. The most common methods-artificial snow production or moving resorts into higher-altitude settings-both have negative ecological consequences. What’s more, they’re not feasible for smaller resorts. Perhaps some day, skiing will be limited to indoor slopes like those in Dubai, or a virtual experience that can be done anywhere, without the risk of broken bones. <
