Europe’s ski industry is confronting a new reality. Rising temperatures and diminishing snowfall are forcing resorts to rethink how they operate and challenging the future of winter sports across the continent.
Snow Is No Longer Reliable
Even in Italy’s Dolomites, where the Winter Olympics will open in Milan-Cortina this February, snow is no longer guaranteed. Natural snowfall is becoming rarer and resorts increasingly rely on artificial snow to keep slopes open. Producing snow is expensive, energy-intensive, and consumes vast amounts of water, which drives up the cost of ski passes. For many Europeans, skiing and other winter sports are becoming less accessible.
Climate Change and the Winter Olympics
Global warming is affecting not only everyday skiing but also the Winter Olympics. A 2021 study found that by 2050 only four past Olympic host cities Lake Placid in the United States, Lillehammer and Oslo in Norway, and Sapporo in Japan will still have reliable winter conditions. If global temperatures rise by four degrees Celsius, nearly all former Olympic sites will be unsuitable, leaving only Sapporo by 2080. Even if the Paris Agreement limit of two degrees Celsius is respected, only nine locations will be viable by mid-century.
The Cost and Resource Challenge
Europe’s winter tourism generates around 180 billion euros annually, with the Alps at its center. Germany, Italy, and France have the largest number of ski resorts, but over half of Europe’s 2,234 resorts are at high risk of low snow if warming continues. Making artificial snow requires about one million liters of water per hectare and large amounts of electricity, adding to greenhouse gas emissions. Skiing costs have risen 34.8 percent since 2015, especially in Switzerland, Austria, and Italy, making many resorts unaffordable for most visitors.
Europe’s ski resorts face a turning point. Without urgent climate action and better management of water and energy resources, winter sports may become increasingly out of reach for millions of people.
