World ski body and UN weather agency team up to help winter sports plan for climate change

GENEVA — Facing a long-time crisis in winter sports because of climate change, the International Ski and Snowboard Federation teamed up with the United Nations weather agency on Thursday.

The initial five-year partnership between FIS and the World Meteorological Organization aims to help national ski federations, venues and race organizers better understand weather forecasting to manage natural and artificial snow. An online meeting is set for Nov. 7.

The Switzerland-based organizations said in a joint statement “winter sports and tourism face a bleak future because of climate change” and warmer temperatures.

FIS said weather issues forced the cancellation of 26 of its 616 World Cups last season across disciplines including Alpine and cross-country skiing, snowboard park and pipe, freestyle skiing and ski jumping.

“Ruined winter vacations and canceled sports fixtures are — literally — the tip of the iceberg of climate change,” WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said in a statement.

Event organizers have long relied on using local water resources to make artificial snow for preparing courses and it is common to see broadcasts of races on a ribbon of white through brown and green forests and fields.

“The climate crisis is obviously far bigger than FIS, or sports, for that matter,” its president Johan Eliasch said. “It is a genuine crossroads for mankind.

“It is true, though, that climate change is, simply put, an existential threat to skiing and snowboarding."

As global temperatures rise, the International Olympic Committee has said by 2040 just 10 countries could have a “climate-reliable” outlook to host snow events at a Winter Games.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Games relied entirely on artificial snow to stage Alpine races about 90 kilometers (55 miles) north of the city in mountains that get almost no natural snowfall.

Saudi Arabia is creating a ski resort with a man-made lake near the futuristic city Project Neom and preparing to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games.

In Switzerland, the federal weather office has said Alpine glaciers have lost about 60% of their volume since 1850.

“The thawing of frozen ground in mountain, arctic and sub-arctic regions has direct consequences on the stability of infrastructures built on it, as well as contributing to increasing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere,” the WMO said.

Less snow is falling at lower altitudes up to 800 meters (2,600 feet), with the number of snowfall days halved since 1970, the Geneva-based UN agency said.