Snowless winters, skiing on white ribbons in green surroundings – if global warming continues, it might also have dramatic consequences for winter and ski tourism, which is important for Austria’s economy, says Andreas Gobiet, expert in regional climate modeling at GeoSphere Austria.
According to experts’ estimates, it will be 2.5 degrees warmer on average by 2050. “This can be described as unavoidable climate change. However, temperatures should stabilize following 2050,” says Gobiet.
Since 1980, winters in particular have become significantly warmer – even in the higher altitudes, where an average increase of two degrees was measured. The importance of artificial snowmaking with “technical snow” will increase significantly, says Gobiet. The number of days with natural snow cover will be reduced by 20 days “across all altitudes” by 2050.
Most of the ski areas already have snow on their slopes. The mood there is currently positive, says Gobiet and points to climate protection. “Every tenth of a degree less warming helps us.”
