French ski resorts are growing increasingly alarmed at the warm weather that threatens to melt all the snow during the peak skiing season.
A temperature of eight degrees was recorded this week in the popular skiing Haute-Maurienne region of Savoie at an altitude of 1,800 metres.
In France, the weather is expected to be unusually mild for the time of year.
Despite the season, temperatures in France are expected to be as high as 25 degrees, with seven departments still on yellow alert.
Climate change has a direct impact on mountains, according to a study published last summer in Nature Climate Change.
These unusually warm temperatures are harming the snowpack, which is already inconsistent and worryingly low.
Director of the Saint-Lary-Soulan ski resort Akim Boufaid said: “Yes, it’s a nightmare, we’re not going to lie to ourselves. The snow is still there, but for how long?”
Boufaid continued: “Yes, the weather conditions are forcing the closure of some ski runs at the moment, but not all. “It takes time in resorts equipped with snow cannons, because it was cold last week.
“The advantage at the moment is that the snow is melting during the day, but very little, because the sun is still high and the days are short.
“And it’s cold enough at night, even if the temperatures remain positive. But for those who haven’t turned on the snow guns, who haven’t stocked up, it’s obviously closing time,
“These days, the ski resorts that are staying open are those that rely on artificial snow.”
In the Alps, 93 percent of ski resorts in France and 98 percent in the Pyrenees face extinction if the climate rises more than three degrees, according to Nature Climate Change.
