Warmer winters, greener Alps: Europe’s skiers grapple with climate change

Sparse snowfall and unanticipated warm winter weather over Europe’s central mountains have caused an excess growth of grass in the region. This has become a major problem for ski slope operators and those visiting the region to enjoy the white Alps. (AP)

The Patscherkofel, a winter sport resort near Innsbruck, Austria, is seen with grassy slopes on Monday, January 2. (AP)

Less snow has raised concerns about spike in temperature and its relation to climate change. (AP)

A weather map showed Poland reporting double digits Celsius temperature in recent days. A Swiss weather agency, MeteoSuisse, also pointed to some of the hottest temperatures ever this time of year. (AP)

A weather station in Delemont, in the Jura range on the French border, already hit a record average daily temperature of 18.1 degrees Celsius on January 1, over 2.5 degrees Celsius higher than the previous record high for January. (AP)

Slopes with an elevation lower than 2,000 meters have not received the expected amount of snowfall yet. This is particularly worrisome for Switzerland’s Adelboden, which is set to host World Cup skiing on Saturday, and generally hosts around 25,000 fans for a single day of racing. (AP)

The temperature increase has been an ongoing process since the past eight years, which are on track to be the warmest on record, according to the United Nations' World Meteorological Organization. 2022 was hottest on record in both Switzerland and France. (AP)