Saving Winter Sports

Winter is here, but don’t break out your skis or snowboards just yet. North America’s coldest season is becoming warmer, with fewer snowy days. In fact, the volume of snow that falls and sticks to the ground in North America has declined by up to 30 percent over the past century. That means trouble for winter sports.

“Warming temperatures are to blame,” says Joel Gratz. He’s a meteorologist at OpenSnow, a company that forecasts snow conditions in different areas. The type of snow needed for skiing is less likely to blanket mountains today. Snow is melting more quickly or falling as rain instead.

Winter is here. But don’t take your skis or snowboards out of your closet just yet. Winter is North America’s coldest season. But it’s becoming warmer. There are fewer days when it snows. The amount of snow that falls and sticks to the ground in North America has lowered by as much as 30 percent over the past 100 years. That means trouble for winter sports.

“Warming temperatures are to blame,” says Joel Gratz. Gratz is a meteorologist. He works at OpenSnow. OpenSnow is a company that forecasts snow conditions in different areas. A certain type of snow is needed for skiing. That type of snow is less likely to exist today. Snow is melting more quickly. Sometimes it falls as rain instead.

With snow in short supply, ski resorts are turning to snow machines. These machines spray out cold water and air to create tiny balls of ice that fall like regular snow. But snowmaking uses a lot of energy, which in turn produces warming gases. This contributes to climate change.

“If the steps we take to reduce pollution lead to lower temperatures, skiers would be happy too,” says Gratz.

Natural snow is hard to find. So ski resorts are using snow machines instead. These machines spray out cold water and air. This creates tiny balls of ice. The ice balls fall like regular snow. But snowmaking uses a lot of energy. That energy produces warming gases. The gases make climate change worse.

“If the steps we take to reduce pollution lead to lower temperatures, skiers would be happy too,” says Gratz.