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Global warming makes the future of Ski resorts uncertain
24/Sep/2006: Retreating glaciers and reduction in the volume of snow falling in mountains due to shortening periods of snow fall, as a result of global warming, will threaten the future of ski resorts below the altitude of 1,800 meters.
This would force the ski resorts to use snow cannons for turning water in to snow, which would then be sprayed onto the slopes to provide good skiing conditions. Ski resorts might benefit by using man-made snow, as it can attract more visitors and help in extending seasons, but man-made snow could deplete precious resources like water and the increase in the number of visitors could affect the fragile eco-system in the mountains.
Jean-Claude Domenego, head of the French Alpine Club, said that the ski resorts in Northern hemisphere want to guarantee the possibility to ski for everyone who visits this region between December to April. But with the United Nations forecasting an increase of 1.4 to 5.8 degree Celsius in global temperatures, ski resorts might find it difficult to meet this guarantee, unless and until the rely more on man-made snow for filling up the slopes for skiing.
Artificial reservoirs are being constructed in the Alps to meet the needs of the ski resorts and for feeding hydro-electric power stations and irrigation canals downstream. With the water resources in the mountains being stretched by the ski resorts for making man-made snow, it is essential to construct such reservoirs, to maintain a good ecological state of water in the mountains, which cover a third of Europe’s surface. A new reservoir coming up in Grand Bornand in France can store up to 400,000 cubic meters of water.
However, if the global warming trend intensifies, the strain on the natural resources in these mountains could go up, leaving the future of ski resorts, hydro-electric power stations and agriculture downstream, in jeopardy.
K Siva
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