Europe’s ski resorts are grappling with an uncertain future as rising temperatures and shrinking snowfall make winter sports increasingly expensive and environmentally taxing. What was once a guaranteed season of powder and slopes is now dependent on costly artificial snow and careful resource management.
The Changing Face of Winter Sports
Even in Italy’s renowned Dolomites, where the Winter Olympics will kick off in Milan-Cortina this February, natural snow is no longer a given. Resorts are increasingly reliant on artificial snow, which comes with high financial and environmental costs. The electricity needed to run snow cannons, along with the enormous water consumption required, contributes to greenhouse gas emissions and strains local resources. For many Europeans, these costs are being passed down through higher ski pass prices, making winter sports less accessible than ever.
Climate Change and the Olympics
The effects of climate change are already reshaping the world’s winter sports landscape. A 2021 study found that, without urgent action, only four former Winter Olympic host cities — Lake Placid (US), Lillehammer and Oslo (Norway), and Sapporo (Japan) — will remain suitable by 2050. Under worst-case warming scenarios, almost all traditional venues could become snow-free, leaving just Sapporo as a viable site by 2080. Even with the Paris Agreement’s 2°C target, only nine former Olympic locations would be viable by mid-century. For countries dependent on winter tourism, this is a major concern.
Economic and Environmental Pressures
Europe’s winter tourism sector brought in roughly €180 billion in 2022, with the Alps at its center. Germany alone has nearly 500 ski resorts, followed by Italy, France, Austria, and Switzerland. Yet a 2023 study predicts that over half of Europe’s 2,234 ski resorts will be at high risk of low snow under a 2°C warming scenario, with some regions like the French Alps and the Pyrenees facing devastating losses.
Artificial snowmaking is highly resource-intensive. Creating 30 centimeters of snow on a single hectare can require a million liters of water — equivalent to a small city’s yearly usage. Electricity for snow cannons adds to greenhouse gas emissions, feeding the climate crisis that caused the problem in the first place. Supplying artificial snow across all Alpine resorts would consume enough electricity to power 130,000 households for a year.
The cost of skiing is rising fast. Since 2015, prices have increased an average of 34.8%, far outpacing inflation, especially in Switzerland, Austria, and Italy. For many tourists, Europe’s iconic ski resorts are becoming unaffordable, while resorts face the dual challenge of attracting visitors and managing the environmental and financial burden of artificial snow.
