Rising temperatures and increasingly unreliable snowfall are forcing ski resorts across Europe to rethink how they operate, as climate change reshapes one of the continent’s most iconic industries.
While slopes near Italy’s Cortina d’Ampezzo — set to co-host the Winter Olympics in February — are currently blanketed in snow, that kind of certainty is becoming rare. Across Europe, natural snowfall is declining, and many resorts now rely heavily on artificial snowmaking just to stay open, driving up costs for both operators and visitors.
Winter Sports Under Pressure
Climate change is already affecting even the most famous Alpine destinations. Warmer winters mean snow is often limited to higher elevations, and even there it is no longer guaranteed. Artificial snow has become the norm, but it comes at a steep price — financially, environmentally, and socially.
The International Olympic Committee has acknowledged the growing impact of global warming on winter sports. A 2021 study by the University of Waterloo found that of the 21 locations that have hosted the Winter Olympics since 1924, only four would remain viable by mid-century without major climate action. Under a worst-case warming scenario of 4°C, just one — Sapporo in Japan — could still host the Games by 2080.
Even if global warming is limited to 2°C, as outlined in the Paris Agreement, fewer than half of past Olympic venues would still be suitable by 2050.
Europe’s Heavy Reliance on Ski Tourism
For communities that depend on winter tourism, these challenges are not theoretical — they are already being felt. Europe’s winter tourism industry generated around €180 billion in 2022, with the Alps at its heart. The region is home to about 80 million people and spans parts of Germany, France, Italy, Austria, Slovenia, Switzerland, and Liechtenstein.
Germany currently has the most ski resorts in Europe, followed by Italy and France. But a 2023 study published in Nature Climate Change warns that more than half of Europe’s 2,234 ski resorts face a very high risk of insufficient snow if global temperatures rise by 2°C. In the French Alps, one in three resorts could effectively become unviable. In the Pyrenees, the figure jumps to nearly 90 percent.
If temperatures climb by 4°C, almost all European ski resorts would struggle to operate at all.
Rising Costs and Environmental Strain
Artificial snowmaking places enormous strain on natural resources. According to WWF, producing just 30 centimeters of snow over one hectare requires at least one million liters of water — and much more in difficult conditions. That level of water use can rival the annual consumption of a large city.
Snow cannons also require vast amounts of electricity, increasing emissions and further fueling the climate crisis. Supplying artificial snow to all Alpine resorts would consume an estimated 600 gigawatt-hours of energy each year — roughly the same as 130,000 households.
These rising costs are increasingly passed on to consumers. Since 2015, the cost of skiing in Europe has jumped by nearly 35 percent on average, far outpacing inflation. Switzerland, Austria, and Italy have seen the sharpest increases, leaving many resorts affordable only to wealthier tourists.
Recognizing the pressure on water and energy systems, the European Union has called for stronger, coordinated management of shared Alpine water resources, warning that climate stress threatens both ecosystems and long-term water security.
As winters grow shorter and snow less reliable, Europe’s ski industry faces a defining question: adapt quickly or risk becoming a luxury relic of a colder past.
