Snowfall shrinks in the Alps: a third less snow since 1920!

Snowfall shrinks in the Alps: a third less snow since 1920!

In the past hundred years, the snow in the Alps has decreased dramatically, as a current study by Eurac Research from Bolzano shows. According to the study author and environmental meteorologist Michele Bozzoli, the fresh snow in the Alps has dropped by astonishing 34 percent. Areas below 2,000 meters are particularly affected, such as in Italy, Slovenia and South Austria, where the amounts of snow have even declined by half. The results of this study, which analyzed extensive weather data from 1920 to 2020, were published in the “International Journal of Climatology” journal. Even if the rainfall has increased in winter, rain falls more and more in lower regions instead of snow.

Significant consequences for water resources

Bozzoli warns of the serious consequences of this development: "The snow is essential for water availability." Without the meltwater in spring, the water reserves could not be filled. In addition, snow acts as protection for glaciers and floors from excessive melt and evaporation. These changes could not only affect winter sports, but also bring far -reaching consequences for all water -dependent activities. The decline in the snow is particularly noticeable in the southwestern and southeastern Alps of Drastiⱬch, where high temperatures also lead in higher regions that there are rain instead of snow, as several media report.

The results of the study are based on extensive data that comes from 46 different locations in the entire Alpine region. These data include both the most modern measurements of weather stations and historical records that have been manually managed. The decline in snow in the Alps is alarming and demands both science and political planning to take the future water availability and the challenge of climate change seriously href = "https://www.nau.ch/europa/rund-ein-drittel-weniger-in-den-alpen-innt-100-jahren-66873197"> nau.ch and 5min.at report in detail.