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Winter without snow soon? Dismal forecast for tourism in Austria

2021-03-18T12:49:28.811Z


In Austria, snow has changed over the past 60 years. A trend is emerging on the meadows and slopes that can hardly be stopped. 


In Austria, snow has changed over the past 60 years.

A trend is emerging on the meadows and slopes that can hardly be stopped. 

Vienna - The snow is no longer what it used to be.

Many have probably already thought that.

Austrian scientists are now confirming this feeling.

The snow has stayed shorter and shorter in the last 60 years - at least in Austria.

Since 1961, the length of snow cover has decreased by 40 days - that is, within 60 years.

The snow season has been shortened particularly sharply in regions below 1500 meters.

This is what research teams from Austria found out when evaluating regional data, reports the Central Institute for Meteorology and Geodynamics (ZAMG).

On the basis of the snow measurements of the past decades, the scientists have also created climate scenarios up to the year 2100.

The snow trends of the past are likely to continue.

Snow in Austria?

The future looks bleak - less precipitation and stronger warming in spring

ZAMG, the University of Innsbruck, the Climate Change Center Austria and the Snow Center Tyrol are involved in the “Future Snow Cover Evolution in Austria” project (short: FuSE-AT).

The teams have been evaluating data on snow conditions in Austria since 2018, as can be found on the website.

The researchers attribute the decrease in the snow season by around 40 days to an earlier meltdown in spring and a later onset of snow in autumn.

“The reason for this is the increased warming in spring.

The duration of the snow cover is very much dependent on the altitude ”, can be read in the research project newsletter.

The snow stays shorter and shorter, and on top of that, the snow depth has decreased over the past 60 years, according to the report: "Between November and April the mean seasonal snow depth in Austria decreased by 15 centimeters between 1961 and 2020." Particularly large changes were found in the 1970s and 1980s.

Snow forecast for Austria 2050 - without measures against climate change, it looks bleak

According to the conclusion of the analyzes, natural snow is falling significantly in Austria.

How pronounced the problem will be in the future depends, according to the researchers, on global climate protection: if the Paris climate target is achieved and global warming is kept below two degrees, there are still opportunities for snow.

“With the so-called Paris goal, we will still be able to enjoy the snow in nature in the future - even if it will be about three weeks shorter,” according to the forecast.

Without climate protection, however, the models showed winter without snow.

Accordingly, there will be hardly any snow below 1000 meters by the end of the century.

80 percent less snow can then be expected in locations up to 2000 meters.

(ml) * Merkur.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

Source: merkur

All news articles on 2021-03-18

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