To mitigate the effects of climate change, Monte Cimone, a well-known ski resort in Italy’s Apennine Mountains, invested 5 million euros in artificial snowmaking before the winter season. Much of the money was wasted.
The lack of cold weather until mid-January rendered the snow cannon ineffective since the water droplets it shoots into the air must freeze before they can fall to the earth as snow (32 Fahrenheit).
“The ski lifts were closed, the ski instructors and seasonal workers had nothing to do and we lost 40% of our revenue for the whole season,” said Luciano Magnani, head of the local consortium of ski tourism operators.
“It was the first time in 40 years that we were closed for the Christmas holidays.”
Rising temperatures threaten the skiing industry worldwide but Italy, with its many relatively low-altitude resorts in the Apennines as well as the Alps, is particularly badly affected.
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According to research from the Italian Green lobby Legambiente, 90% of Italy’s ski slopes use artificial snow, compared to 70% in Austria, 50% in Switzerland, and 39% in France.
The effects pose a threat to the local economy, environment, and way of life.
Europe is experiencing drought due to rising temperatures, and Italy cannot afford the millions of cubic metres of water it uses each year to produce snow.
According to Legambiente, the yearly water consumption of Italy’s Alpine slopes may soon equal that of a city like Naples with a million residents.
An enormous amount of electricity is also used by a battery of snow cannons that keeps expanding.
The power required to provide artificial snow to all Europe’s Alpine resorts would equal the annual consumption of 130,000 families of four people, said Mario Tozzi, a geologist and conservationist.
Story adapted from Reuters
