Europe’s iconic ski resorts are being forced to rethink how they survive as rising temperatures and dwindling snowfall reshape winter tourism. While some slopes are still white this season, the long-term outlook is far less predictable — and increasingly expensive.
Snow on Demand, at a Heavy Cost
With the Winter Olympics set to open in Milan–Cortina on 6 February, the slopes around Cortina d’Ampezzo — often called the “pearl of the Dolomites” — are currently covered in snow. But this picture is no longer guaranteed across Europe.
As winters grow milder, natural snowfall is becoming less reliable, even in traditionally snow-secure regions. Many resorts now depend heavily on artificial snowmaking just to operate. While it keeps pistes open, the process comes with steep financial and environmental costs. These expenses are often passed directly to skiers through rising lift pass prices, putting winter sports beyond the reach of many families.
Climate Change Is Redrawing the Winter Olympics Map
The effects of climate change are being felt throughout the Alpine region, including Italy’s Belluno province, where higher temperatures and shorter snow seasons are becoming the norm. The International Olympic Committee has acknowledged that global warming — driven largely by fossil fuel use — threatens the future of winter sports.
A 2021 study by the University of Waterloo found that without significant climate action, only four former Winter Olympic host cities would still be suitable by mid-century: Lake Placid in the US, Oslo and Lillehammer in Norway, and Sapporo in Japan. In a worst-case scenario where global temperatures rise by 4°C by 2050, only Sapporo would remain viable by 2080. Even if warming is limited to 2°C under the Paris Agreement, fewer than half of past Olympic venues could host the Games again by 2050.
Resorts, Resources and Rising Prices
While the Olympics last only a few weeks every four years, climate pressures are a daily concern for regions that depend on skiing. Europe’s winter tourism industry generated around €180 billion in 2022, with the Alps acting as its economic and ecological core. The region spans seven countries and is home to roughly 80 million people, along with vital water resources and rich biodiversity.
Germany leads Europe with nearly 500 ski resorts, followed by Italy and France. Yet a 2023 study published in Nature Climate Change warns that 53 percent of Europe’s 2,234 ski resorts face a high risk of snow shortages if global temperatures rise by 2°C. In the French Alps, a third of resorts could disappear, while nearly 90 percent of resorts in the Pyrenees are at risk. At 4°C warming, almost all European ski resorts would struggle to operate.
Artificial snowmaking places enormous strain on water and energy supplies. Producing enough snow to cover a single hectare of slope can require more than one million litres of water, and repeated snowmaking pushes consumption even higher. Across the Alps, artificial snow production could demand around 600 gigawatt-hours of electricity each year — roughly the annual use of 130,000 households.
These pressures are already hitting consumers. Since 2015, the cost of skiing in Europe has risen by nearly 35 percent, well above inflation, with the sharpest increases seen in Switzerland, Austria and Italy. As resorts grapple with climate reality, many are being forced to diversify beyond winter sports — or risk becoming relics of a colder past.
