A study reveals that these facilities will depend on artificial snow, with the consequent waste of energy
The future of snow tourism in Spain is increasingly uncertain. The global increase in temperature associated with climate change draws a critical situation for the ski resorts Spanishwhich, in the face of an increase of between 2 and 4 degrees above pre-industrial levels, would be at the expense of artificial snow, with the consequent expense in water and energy required to produce it.
This is one of the conclusions of the study published today in the journal Nature Climate Changethe most comprehensive to date on the impact of climate change on 2,234 European ski resortswhich in total add up to 984 square kilometers of slopes, half the existing extension worldwide.
To arrive at these results, according to Efe, the investigation has analyzed, among other things, the volume of normal and artificial snow, if it has been used, that European ski resorts have needed to operate between 1961 and 1990. , within the framework of the global temperature increase of 0.6 degrees that has taken place in this period of time.
Starting from this reference, scientists have made projections of what would happen with global increases of 2 and 4 degreesthe values to which we are headed if there is no drastic decrease in CO2 emissions in the next two decades.
The conclusion is resounding and worrying: more than half of the European ski slopes would not have enough of their own snow to operate from 2 degrees of temperature increase, and the percentage rises to 98% if we reach a 4 degree increase, compared to pre-industrial levels.
According to the study, the stations that would best resist would be those of the most Nordic countries, but the southern countries, including Spain, would be the ones that would see the survival of these facilities most compromised.
Artificial snow: a double-edged sword
The snow cannons They are usually considered as the lifeline when there is a lack of natural snow, but in a situation of global warming, they may not be the solution, due to the resources they consume. Scientists remember that at the moment when a ski slope needs more than 25% of artificial snow to operate, the demand for water and electricity to create and maintain that snow skyrocketssignificantly multiplying the carbon footprint for each skier and jeopardizing the viability of snow tourism in these circumstances.
ANDIn the case of Spanish stationsthe demand for water and electricity to produce artificial snow would grow 10% annually if the global temperature rises more than 2 degrees and 20% annually if it exceeds 4 degrees.
The increase in energy demand would trigger the carbon footprint per skier, which would grow by 13% in a context of 2 more degrees, and by 25% if it were 4 degrees. Currently, the carbon footprint per skier in Spain is around 1.6 kilo tons of CO2 equivalent.
The study, led by Hugues François, an engineer at the French Agriculture, Food and Environment Research Institute, aims to provide detailed information and projections to the tourism sector and European governments, which, according to the researchers, should be looking Economic alternatives for those areas dependent on winter sports, since the energy and water cost of maintaining the slopes could be unsustainable.
Reference study: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-023-01759-5
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