A large French Alps ski resort that operated for 85 years just shut down because winters are now too warm to sustain reliable snowfall due to climate change.
This isn’t an isolated case. It’s becoming common across the Alps and the US is next.
Spring snowpack in the western US has fallen nearly 20% since 1955. Ski seasons are getting shorter.
In my home state of California, major April and October snowstorms used to be routine in the 20th century. Over the last decade, they’ve become rare.
Many of California’s biggest ski resorts base elevations sit at 6,000–7,000 feet, elevations already getting hammered by rising snow levels.
A 2023 study found mid-winter snow levels in the Sierra Nevada have risen 1,000–1,500 feet since 1949, and they’ll keep climbing as the world warms.