Alpine resorts are increasingly using snow cannons to provide the artificial snow needed for skiing. What future is there for winter sports in times of climate change?
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00:00Balderschwang, a popular ski resort in southern Germany where snow was all but certain,
00:06but it no longer falls in the quantities it used to.
00:09With a general lack of snow in the Alps, how much longer will ski trips to the region be possible?
00:17We miss the cold days that we had in January and February,
00:22which of course ensured that the snow that was there held up better.
00:28This mountain village in the Oberallgäu region lies at an altitude of 1044 meters
00:33in a high valley that is also known as Bavarian Siberia due to the amount of snow it typically receives.
00:40So far, Balderschwang has had more snow than many alpine ski resorts that lie higher up.
00:46We open to Lake Constance like a funnel.
00:50The mountains close up and the clouds get stuck inside, giving us more precipitation.
00:55That means a bit more water in summer, which is good, and snow in winter.
01:02Winter settles in over the region in all its splendor,
01:05but even here in Balderschwang you can clearly feel that things are changing.
01:1320 years ago we still had 150 operating days in the ski area, and now we have 100.
01:24Unlike in other regions of the Alps, no ski slopes have had to close here yet,
01:29but the brown shade of the southern slopes is unmistakable.
01:33Balderschwang is prepared to make artificial snow on 80% of its slopes.
01:41In Bolzano, a city in south Tyrol in northern Italy,
01:45scientists at the URAC Research Institute are studying the effects of climate change on the Alps.
01:54Snowfall in the entire alpine region has decreased drastically, especially since the 1980s.
02:00Until the 80s, overall, the average seasonal fresh snow was more or less the same,
02:09while after the 80s, due to this strong increase of the temperature,
02:15the fresh snow started to be less and less.
02:22We head to the measuring station in the mountains near Bolzano.
02:25Michele Bozzoli and a team of researchers investigated the amount of snowfall in the Alps between 1920 and 2020.
02:33They analysed weather data from the archives as well as 46 measuring stations around the wider alpine region.
02:41In the last 100 years we have lost more than 30% of the snow.
02:46It means that there will be less natural snow in the future,
02:51and so the ski area located below 1,000-1,500 meters will experience less snow.
03:02One thing is certain, less snow will mean big changes in winter tourism.
03:10We've made changes in many areas, and if now put the winter experience in the foreground,
03:15that is, snow tourism, we've also extended the winter hiking trail
03:20so that we can switch between winter sports and the winter experience in general.
03:28Some ski areas are fighting it with all their might,
03:31while others, like Balderschwang, are adapting to the reality of the situation.
03:35The sooner, the better.