The global ski industry, a multi-billion-dollar economic sector, generates hundreds of millions of skier visits annually and serves as the economic lifeline for mountain communities across North America, Europe, Australia, New Zealand, and Japan. In European Alps alone, it employs approximately 300,000 people. Canada boasts over 200 ski areas that collectively attract more than 18 million skier visits annually, including 2.7 million international visitors (Knowles et al., 2024). Skiing also holds immense economic significance, supporting human activities involved with hospitality, real estate, transportation, and retail services.

            A excellent ski experience depends on two key climatic conditions: consistently cold temperatures and sufficient snowfall during the ski season. However, these conditions are increasingly being affected by anthropogenic warming and associated climate change. Additionally, ski resorts are experiencing the negative impacts of the increasing frequency of winter rainfall and prolonged winter heatwaves.

            Here’s a summary of research findings on how human-induced climate change is impacting the ski industry:

• In general, research has found that recreational skiing is highly sensitive to climate change because it relies on consistent cold temperatures and sufficient snowfall, rendering it particularly vulnerable among the tourism industry.
  
  
• In general, human-caused climate change will reduce snow reliability and shorten the skiing season—especially at low to mid-elevation resorts—because warmer winters bring less snowfall and more rain (Beniston, 2003). Resorts at higher elevations are likely to be less affected, and some impacts may be partially offset by snowmaking.
  
  
• The Australian ski industry was among the first globally to be significantly impacted by climate change and its associated warming temperaure and reductions in snowfall (Bicknell & McManus, 2006). A study by Hennessy et al. 2008 examined the future impact of climate change on Australian skiing. The study predicted a significant reduction in snow cover area, estimating a 10–39% decrease by 2020 and a more substantial 22–85% reduction by 2050. Further, ski seasons will experience a substantial reduction in their length, with a potential decrease of up to 60% by 2020 and a drastic reduction of up to 99% by 2050.
  
  
• Wobus et al., 2017 used a physically based water/energy balance snow model to simulate future 21st century snow accumulation across the continental USA for 247 locations. They used five different climate models under the RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 emission scenarios. Nearly all downhill skiing locations were forecasted to experience shorter ski seasons. Some resorts could face reductions exceeding 50% by 2050 and 80% by 2090. Their model also indicated that snowmaking potential (at a threshould temperature of -2 °C) would decline significantly with time under both emission scenarios.
  
  
• Knowles et al. (2006) showed that a shift from snowfall to rainfall across the mountainous western United States during winter occurred between 1949 and 2004. Computer modeling suggest a future decline in snowfall and an increase in rainfall for ski resorts located in coastal and interior British Columbia (Pidwirny & Collins, 2022).
  
  
• Brown & Mote, 2009 found from NOAA observations (1966-2007) and climate change model output (CMIP3) that snow cover duration has declined over western North America and will continue to decline in the future because of warming temperatures.
   
• Ashley et al. (2020) used high-resolution, convection-permitting regional climate simulations to track and quantify changes in North American snowstorms under a greenhouse gas high‑emission (RCP8.5) late‑twenty‑first‑century scenario. They discovered substantial reductions in the frequency and magnitude of snowstorms across North America. Notably, the early and late boreal winter months exhibit particularly pronounced proportional decreases in both the frequency and snow water equivalent accumulations of snowstorms.
  
  
• Mitterwallner, Steinbauer, Mathes, & Walentowitz (2024) did a global assessment of projected changes in snow cover in ski areas around the world under emission scenarios SSP1-2.6, SSP3-7.0, and SSP5-8.5. They found that snow cover duration approaches or falls below the 100-day snow-reliability threshold by the late century for most ski resorts worldwide. Under the SSP3-7.0, mean snow cover days decline by 23–78% across regions by 2071–2100 vs the historical period 1950-2010. The largest losses in the Australian Alps, Japanese Alps, and Appalachian Mountains. Least affected by snow cover days decline will be the Rocky Mountains. Further, 13% of current ski areas were projected to lose all their natural annual snow cover days, while 20% were expected to lose between 50% and 100% by 2071–2100 (SSP3-7.0).  In conclusion, they discovered that snow-reliable ski areas will be more likely to be found in mountain ranges that are more continental and have higher elevations by the end of the 21st century.
  
  
• Research by Bauer et al. (2026) suggests widespread decreases in snow depth and skiable days in the United States particularly across the West, Southwest, and particularly at higher elevations.
  
  
• Durand et al. (2009) conducted a comprehensive 47-year (1958–2005) reanalysis of the climate in the French Alps. They utilized the SAFRAN-Crocus-MEPRA (SCM) snowpack model for the reanalysis. This study revealed significant trends in snow cover, indicating an altitude-dependent decrease in snow depth and duration of cover.
  
  
• Studies indicate that approximately half of Europe’s ski resorts could face the threat of closure by the year 2050. Under the assumption of continued high greenhouse gas emissions, the viability of the remaining ski resorts would be nearly nonexistent by the end of the century.
  
  
• In a study of ski resorts in the European Alps (Steiger & Abegg, 2013), researchers observed a decline in snowpack duration of about 8.9 days per decade (1970–2015) across elevations of 1,139–2,540 meters.
  
  
• A study using decades of remote sensing data (Schilling et al., 2026), found that in the European Alps the snow season has been shortening at or above earlier high-emission projections. This result suggest previous modeling studies for this region may have been too conservative in their estimate of the rate of length of snow season future decline.
  
  
• In Japan, Fukushima et al. (2002) employed computer modeling to investigate the impact of rising air temperatures on snow depth and skier visitation across seven Japanese ski areas. Under a scenario of a +3 °C increase in air temperature (with precipitation remaining constant), they predict a significant decline in skier visits, exceeding 30% in almost all Japanese ski areas, except for Hokkaido and/or high-altitude regions. Low-altitude southern ski areas may experience even more substantial drops, potentially exceeding 50%.
  
  
• Research done in the Southern Hemisphere, projects that New Zealand snow-cover season will declining from 113–125 days historically to 52–110 days by 2090  (Hendrikx et al., 2013), and Australia from 94–155 days to 0–75 days by 2070 (Hennessy et al., 2008).
  
  
• As winter temperatures rise, the snow-to-rain transition is becoming more pronounced, causing the rain-snow boundary to shift upslope (Pidwirny & Collins, 2022). This shift will reduce the snowpack even when the total amount of precipitation remains constant.
  
  
• Rain-on-snow events have a detrimental effect on the surface of ski runs, accelerating the melt of the snow base. Such events have a huge impact on the quality of the ski experience of individuals. Rain-on-snow events will increase significantly as temperatures warm up (Pidwirny & Collins, 2022).
  
  
• Rising snowmaking demand in Western Canada is projected to increase by 108–161% by mid-century, even under optimistic scenarios. However, snowmaking is not an environmentally friendly process that consumes large amounts of water and energy.
  
  
• The snowmaking paradox suggests that ski resorts will need to make more artificial snow in the future as natural snowfall declines. However, warming winter temperatures will reduce the cold periods required to artificial make snow.
  
  
• Knowles, Scott, & Steiger (2024) suggest the snowmaking resource footprint in Canada is  about 478,000 MWh of electricity and around 130,095 tonnes carbon dioxide gas equivalent atmospheric emission annually, with production requirements projected to rise 55–97% by 2050.
  
  
• El Niño generally brings warmer temperatures and reduced snowfall to many ski resorts in the Pacific Northwest, British Columbia, and the northern U.S. Rockies, while often boosting snowfall in California, the Southwest, and parts of the southern Rockies (Pidwirny & Turney, 2014). In recent years, El Niño events have caused catastrophic ski conditions is coastal located ski reorts in British Columbia, Washington State, and Oregon.
  
  
• Community impacts and closures include more than 200 ski areas closed in France over ~70 years (mostly below 2,000 m), with closures linked to a “downward spiral” of population loss and community economic viability (Hird, 2026).

Conclusions for the Future

            Across different geographical regions, evidence indicates that rising air temperatures have led to a decline in snowfall, winter precipitation shifts from snow to rain, and limitations in the ability of resorts to adapt. Consequently, ski seasons are expected to shorten, increasing operational costs for ski resort owners. Additionally, favorable user experiences for skiing are more likely to occur at resorts with higher elevations. Future emissions of greenhouse gases, because of human activity, will increase the intensity and frequency of poor ski seasons at resorts around the world as the planet continues to warm.

References 

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