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<ul class="summary-list"><li>Heavy snowfall across Japan has killed at least 17 people over the last 10 days, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-japan-climate-and-environment-522b6581d5ba3f8cbef6333c5cca9dd5?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_04" target="_blank" rel="noopener">AP reported.</a></li><li>Some parts of the country are reporting three times their average snowfall for the season.</li></ul><p>Record levels of snowfall in Japan have left at least 17 dead and 90 people injured according to disaster management officials, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/business-japan-climate-and-environment-522b6581d5ba3f8cbef6333c5cca9dd5?utm_source=homepage&amp;utm_medium=TopNews&amp;utm_campaign=position_04">the Associated Press</a> reported. </p><p>Much of the country's northern and western regions have seen persistent heavy snow in recent days, stranding hundreds of vehicles on highways, delaying delivery and public transport services, and leaving thousands of homes without power, the outlet reported.</p><p>The scope of the winter storm has been unprecedented, with some parts of northeastern Japan reporting three times their average snowfall for the season.</p><p>The Associated Press reported that officials said Monday that 17 people have died, some of whom had fallen while removing snow from the roofs. The officials urged residents not to remove snow from vehicles and roofs on their own due to safety concerns, the outlet reported.</p><p>One elderly woman in Nagai City — an area located around 300 kilometers (180 miles) north of Tokyo — was found dead buried underneath a pile of snow that suddenly fell on her from her roof, AP reported. Snow in the area had piled up to higher than 80 centimeters (2.6 feet) over the weekend.</p><p>Heavy snow also knocked down an electric power transmission tower in Japan's northern region, leaving about 20,000 homes without power on Christmas morning, the outlet reported. Electricity has since been restored and the heavy snowfall is expected to ease from Monday. </p><p>Japan is not the only country struggling with snowfall this winter. </p><p>At least 38 deaths have now been linked to severe snow storms battering the US and Canada in recent days, <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-64091560">the BBC reported</a> Monday.</p><p>The storms have also <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/winter-storm-flights-airports-air-travel-chaos-delayed-canceled-weather-2022-12">heavily disrupted travel</a> over the holiday weekend and left thousands of people without electricity. </p><p>Officials have urged people to stay home, calling the storms a "very dangerous life-threatening situation," the BBC reported. </p>

Record levels of snowfall in Japan leave 17 dead and 90 people injured, report says

<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Sure tough terrain and interesting trails matter, but a ski mountain is only as good as the amount of snow it has.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Williams Ski &amp; Patio gathered data on the <a href="http://www.williamsskiandpatio.com/blog/snowiest-ski-resorts/">ski mountains that get the most natural snowfall in each state </a>and created an infographic showing their findings. They omitted some states in the south, which don't get natural snow.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Alaska's Alyeska Resort got the most snowfall, with an average annual snowfall of 735 inches. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Unsurprisingly, states in the west got tremendous amounts of snow: Washington's Mt. Baker saw 647 inches of snow, Utah's Alta saw 560 inches of snow, and Wyoming's Grand Targhee saw 480 inches of snow. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Ski resorts in the northeast and southeast US saw the least amount of snowfall. Vermont's Smugglers Notch got the most snow of any resort in the northeast, with 324 inches of snow each year. In New York state, Snow Ridge saw an average annual snowfall of 189 inches. </span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">See the full <a href="http://www.williamsskiandpatio.com/blog/snowiest-ski-resorts/">infographic</a> below.</span></p>
<p><span style="line-height: 1.5em;"><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="Williams Ski &amp; Patio" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/54ca9d3becad04f044ebedfb-960/snowiest-ski-resorts-by-state.png"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Williams Ski &amp; Patio</span></p></div><p></p></div></div><br /></span></p>

The snowiest ski resort in (almost) every state

<p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div><p>It snowed on December 19 in the Sahara Desert, and NASA's Landsat 7 satellite was there (or rather, hundreds of miles overhead) to see it.</p><p>The photo comes from Landsat 7's Enhanced Thematic Mapper Plus visible-light camera, and depicts the first snowfall recorded in the massive African desert in&#xa0;<a href="http://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/snow-falls-sahara-first-time-1979-180961545/">37 years.</a></p><p>The snow-covered area depicted in the photo lies on the northern end of the desert, near the Moroccan-Algerian border and the town of Ain Safra. Here's the full image, which you can click to enlarge:</p><p></p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table click-to-enlarge"><div><div class="image on-image"><a title_source="NASA" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="https://static-ssl.businessinsider.com/image/585c3853f10a9a51098b4e19-960/moroccoetm2016354lrg.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></div><p></p></div></div><p>NASA notes that snow is not all that rare on the African continent, with regular snowfall on high peaks like Kilimanjaro and <a href="http://www.tiffindell.co.za/">sites where people&#xa0;ski in South Africa</a>.</p><p>Photographer Karim Boucheta was in the right place at the right time to capture photos of the Saharan snowfall from the ground, and he's posted them to Facebook:</p><div></div>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/arctic-sea-ice-thinner-past-26-years-foreboding-animation-noaa-video-2016-12">This startling animation shows how much Arctic sea ice has thinned in just 26 years</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="Jqb2k5ODE619TsBzQ3m8ryeVKgcEyosd" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Snowfall was recorded in the Sahara Desert for the first time in 37 years - and the satellite imagery is gorgeous

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://appel.nasa.gov/2013/05/13/collaborative-planning-for-icebridge-science/">NASA/Maria-Jose Vinas</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div>A surprising new NASA study actually has some positive news for Antarctica: The continent is gaining ice. </p><p>The <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-study-mass-gains-of-antarctic-ice-sheet-greater-than-losses">new study</a> directly contradicts a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/a-guide-to-2013-ipcc-report-2013-9">2013 Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report</a> that concluded that the Antarctic ice sheet was shrinking and contributing to global sea level rise.</p><p>Though this study is great news, it's not quite the bombshell that climate change deniers may have hoped to find.</p><p><strong>Here's the bad news: The process may reverse in a few decades, the scientists say. </strong>Plus, the finding means that the rise in sea level that scientists once attributed to Antarctic shrinking must be coming from somewhere else. </p><p>To conduct their study, the scientists, led by Jay Zwally, a glaciologist with the NASA Goddard Space Flight center in Maryland, measured small changes in the height of the pack ice over large areas using satellite-based laser altimeters.</p><p>In areas where snowfall accumulation is greater than the ice flow downward and outward to the ocean, the surface height increases and thus the ice sheet mass grows. </p><p>Using this increase in height as a proxy for mass gain, they found that the ice pack in the East and the interior of West Antarctica is actually increasing, rather than decreasing as previous studies reported.</p><p>The ice is increasing at a rate faster than glacial melt and discharge is occuring in other, warmer parts of Antarctica, for an overall net gain in ice mass.</p><p>But Zwally cautions that the process could reverse in a few decades.</p><p><span>"If the losses of the Antarctic Peninsula and parts of West Antarctica continue to increase at the same rate they've been increasing for the last two decades," Zwally <a href="http://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-study-mass-gains-of-antarctic-ice-sheet-greater-than-losses">noted in a NASA press release</a>, "the losses will catch up with the long-term gain in East Antarctica in 20 or 30 years - I don't think there will be enough snowfall increase to offset these losses."</span></p><p><span><span style="font-weight: 400;">At the moment, the rate at which accumulated snowfall is boosting ice mass in East Antarctica is exceeding the rate at which ice is melting on other parts of the continent. But if the snowfall accumulation rate slows down and the climate keeps warming, Antarctica will quickly tip into a situation where it's losing ice more rapidly than it's gaining it.</span></span></p><p><span><span style="font-weight: 400;">Here's a map showing the rates of mass changes from 2003-2008 over Antarctica:</span></span></p><p><span><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"><p class="source"><span><a href="http://www.nasa.gov/sites/default/files/thumbnails/image/figure-dmdt-map.png">Jay Zwally/Journal of Glaciology</a></span></p></div><p></p></div></div></span></p><p><span>In order to distinguish whether the Antarctic ice mass gain was a long-term trend, or just the result of recent snowfall, Zwally and his team compared historical data with their more recent altimetry data.</span></p><p><span>The data show that a long, 10,000-year process of snowfall accumulation that began at the end of the last Ice Age has been consistently thickening the ice by an average of 1.7 centimeters per year. Over the course of their study period, from 1992 to 2008, the team calculated the mass gain remained steady at 200 billion tons per year, offsetting the 65 billion tons per year lost due to glacial melt.</span></p><p><span>This increase in ice is actually contributing to a reduction in sea level by 0.23 milimeters per year. But, that doesn't mean that the sea level rise attributed to Antarctica in the 2013 IPCC report doesn't exist - it's just coming from somewhere else. </span></p><p><span>NASA is planning to continue monitoring the mass balance of the Antarctic ice sheet with a new project set to commence in 2018, so scientists can further understand how the ice is changing and what factors control these processes. </span></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/nasa-antartica-gaining-ice-study-climate-change-2015-11">NASA says Antarctica is gaining ice</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="1kZHNreDpKo886922Q9HIfiyKH_mR7G-" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Antarctica is gaining ice, but not for long

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"></div><p></p></div></div>As residents of the Northeast awakened on Tuesday to a heavy snowfall, the region's airports had curtailed operations and airlines had <a href="http://flightaware.com/live/cancelled/today">canceled over 5,000 flights</a>. </p><p>In the New York area, the blizzard was less severe than forecasted, but by early morning the snowfall had picked up. Teterbotro, a regional airport in New Jersey, was closed, but John F. Kennedy International, LaGuardia, and Newark International were all open, although preemptive flight cancellations meant that arrivals and departures were limited.</p><p>Nationwide, over 7,000 flights were canceled through Wednesday, according to USA Today.</p><p>Other East Coast airports, from Washington, DC to the New England regions, all saw their operations reduced by the winter weather.</p><p>In New York, the expected snowfall fell to 4-8 inches, the New York Times reported, down from the foot or more that had been feared before the storm, a late-season Nor'easter, hit early Tuesday morning.</p><p>Travelers are advised to check their airlines for updates.</p><p><em>This story will be updated.</em></p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/blizzard-northeast-weather-snow-winter-storm-stella-2017-3">A blizzard is expected to slam the Northeast - here's who has the potential for the most snow</a></h3>        <div>            <div>        <div class="ooyala-video-player" data-video-autoplay="false" data-video-id="A5N3VhYTE6f_Kb661gPkP8V2vQaP3y_T" data-player-variable="ooyalapopvideo" id="ooyalaplayer_popvideo" style="width:1280px;height:720px"></div>        </div>        </div>            </div>

Blizzard forces over 5,000 flight cancellations in the Northeast

<p></p>
<p>By the time many city-dwellers left for work this morning, snow was already falling - the ominous beginnings of a snowstorm New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has warned could be "a storm the likes of which we have never seen before." </p>
<p>But is he right?</p>
<p>The National Weather Service is predicting snowfall of 18-24 inches in the city between now and Wednesday morning. There's a blizzard warning in effect for the city from 1 p.m. Monday until 12 a.m Wednesday.</p>
<p></p>
<p>For comparison's sake, the National Weather Service keeps a convenient list of the past century's biggest snowstorms, <a href="http://www.weather.gov/media/okx/Climate/CentralPark/BiggestSnowstorms.pdf">as measured at Central Park</a>. Here are the record-holders:</p>
<p></p>
<p>In addition to snow, the National Weather Service is <a href="http://www.hpc.ncep.noaa.gov/discussions/nfdscc2.html">predicting "near hurricane-force" winds</a>, which could lead to zero-visibility conditions in areas with heavy snowfall. </p>
<p>This combination of conditions ensures that winter storm Juno will pack quite a punch, whether it succeeds in breaking any records or not.</p>

Here's How Today's Big Blizzard Compares To The Top Five Storms In The History Of NYC

<p>The U.S. has been battered with <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/an-unusual-and-deadly-ice-storm-is-hitting-the-deep-south-2014-2">several big winter storms</a> this year, and people are right to think that this winter has been much worse than last year.</p>
<p>This map from Reuters shows how snowfall totals this year differ from last year's winter season:</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container"><div class="image"><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>As the map shows, there's been more snow this year and the heavy snowfall extends further south.</p>
<p>But not all parts of the U.S. are being slammed with snow and ice - California is experiencing a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/california-drought-pictures-2014-2">particularly nasty dry spell</a>, and other western states have been unseasonably warm this winter.</p>

This Map Shows How Incredibly Snowy It Has Been This Year

<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>REUTERS/Stephanie Keith</span></p><p class="caption">Winter's not over yet.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><ul><li><strong>Winter storm warnings are in effect for a large swath of the Northeast starting Tuesday at midnight and lasting until Thursday morning.</strong></li><li><strong>Snowfall projections are between 12 and 16 inches, according to the National Weather Service.</strong></li><li><strong>It's the fourth Nor'easter to hit the region in March. </strong></li></ul><p>Spring is officially here, but East Coasters are bracing for a blast of wintery weather.</p><p>Winter storm warnings are in effect for a large swath of the East Coast, with the National Weather Services projecting up to 12 to 16 inches of snowfall in Philadelphia, New Jersey, New York City, and Connecticut between midnight on Tuesday and 8 a.m. on Thursday.</p><p>These snowfall predictions could be adjusted throughout Tuesday as forecasters keep an eye on the storm. </p><p>The incoming storm will be the fourth <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/category/noreaster">Nor'easter</a> to <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/winter-storm-skylar-third-noreaster-in-two-weeks-2018-3">slam into the East Coast</a> in only three weeks and comes on the heels of a storm that flooded portions of Boston and coastal Massachusetts. </p><p><div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table float_right"><div><div class="image on-image"><p class="source"><span>Windy.com</span></p><p class="caption">The projected location of the winter storm on Wednesday at 7 p.m.</p></div><p></p></div></div></p><p>The precipitation will likely fall as a wintry mix of sleet, rain, and heavy, wet snow as temperatures will hover around the low-to-mid 30s on Tuesday night and through Wednesday.</p><p>The wet snow will produce <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/winter-weather-snow-wind-set-to-slam-northeast-2018-3">hazardous conditions</a> for traveling and may cause flooding and power outages in coastal areas. </p><p>The storm could also produce rare <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/thundersnow-storm-national-weather-service-2018-3">thunder snow</a>, which New Yorkers experienced only two weeks ago.  </p><p>And even though it's set to be warm, wet snow, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/at-what-temperatures-can-you-get-frostbite-or-hypothermia-2015-2">risk of frostbite</a> and hypothermia is still real. The wind chill could dip the thermometer into the 20s on Wednesday night, according to The National Weather Service. </p><p>The National Weather Service warns that travel will be "difficult" or "impossible" on Wednesday with snow and ice accumulating on the roads. </p><p>Similar to the "<a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/cold-weather-bomb-east-coast-snow-record-lows-2018-1">bomb cyclone</a>" earlier this winter (and the three Nor'easters earlier this month) the incoming storm is caused by an atmospheric disturbance out of Canada, that feeds a rapidly intensifying area of low pressure off the Mid-Atlantic coast, reports <a href="https://mashable.com/2018/03/19/4th-noreaster-in-3-weeks-snow-northeast/#mBLt2m7NFsqm">Mashable's Andrew Freedman</a>. </p><p>While the winds associated with this storm likely won't be as strong as the storms earlier this month, it's expected to lead to intense snowfall as it sucks up moisture over the ocean and dumps it across the Northeast.</p><p>The National Weather Service has also issued a high surf advisory for New York City, New Jersey, and Long Island coastlines, with minor flooding possible. </p>    <div class="margin-top">        <h3>NOW WATCH: <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/why-nasa-has-not-sent-humans-to-mars-2018-2">The surprising reason why NASA hasn't sent humans to Mars yet</a></h3>        <div>                    </div>    </div>

Spring is officially here - but the East Coast is about to get pummeled by another winter storm

<ul class="summary-list"><li>The southern California foothills have received more snow than NYC and Philadelphia this year.</li><li>Parts of the Inland Empire have seen an inch of snow this season, the National Weather Service said.</li></ul><p>It's been such a notably dry winter in the Northeast that parts of southern California have now seen more snowfall this season than New York City and Philadelphia, according to the National Weather Service. </p><p>Storms <a href="https://www.insider.com/california-snow-storm-blizzard-warning-rare-photos-2023-2">over the weekend battered southern California with heavy rain and even some snowfall</a> in regions that don't typically experience it. Some towns in the San Bernardino County foothills were blanketed with snow on Saturday, reaching down from the mountains into inland suburbs like Rancho Cucamonga and Fontana, <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2023/02/26/southern-california-storms-snow/11354125002/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">USA Today reported.</a></p><p>"Areas in the Inland Empire near Fontana, Rialto, and Devore have now picked up more snow this winter than New York City and Philadelphia," the <a href="https://twitter.com/NWSSanDiego/status/1629626858231959553" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Weather Service San Diego tweeted over the weekend. </a></p><p>The National Weather Service's Philadelphia office told Insider that Rialto, a town in the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains and the San Gabriel Mountains, has received one inch of snow so far this winter, with neighboring Fontana also receiving one inch of snow. </p><p>By contrast, Philadelphia has only received 0.3 inches of snow so far this winter, and New York City has seen just 0.4 inches of snow, the weather service said.</p><p>New York City may finally break its historically snow-free winter this evening, with snowfall forecasted to reach three to five inches in Manhattan, <a href="https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?zoneid=NYZ072#:~:text=Highs%20in%20the%20lower%2040s,mph%2C%20becoming%20southeast%20this%20afternoon.&amp;text=Snow%20and%20sleet.,of%203%20to%205%20inches." target="_blank" rel="noopener">according to the National Weather Service</a>. Philadelphia, however, is still beaten out by southern California for now.</p>

Parts of Southern California have now seen more snow this year than New York City and Philadelphia, National Weather Service says

<p>The first week of the Winter Olympics in Sochi was <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/sochi-weather-warm-2014-2">plagued by a heat wave</a> with temperatures in the 60s that made the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/photos-warm-sochi-winter-olympics-2014-2">games look more like the Summer Olympics</a>.</p>
<p>Well, day 12 finally brought winter-like conditions in which some events were held in heavy snowfall. Those events produced some amazing photos.</p>
<p>The heaviest snowfall came during the freestyle skiing halfpipe event.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Reuters" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/53038eaf69bedd190275cd80-960/rtx191rt.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>It created havoc for some of the skiers.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Getty Images" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/53038f7c6da8111f70e82be9-960/sochi-olympics-10.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>But also led to some cool images.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Getty Images" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/53038ea76da8112173e82be1-960/470102179.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>There was also snow during the men's biathlon.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Getty Images" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/53038e986bb3f7773fc3bf3f-960/470039451.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Ondrej Moravec of the Czech Republic celebrated his bronze medal finish in the snow.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Reuters" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static3.businessinsider.com/image/53038e9b6bb3f75236c3bf4b-960/rtx191c1.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Reuters</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>There was also a light snow during the women's giant slalom.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Getty Images" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static2.businessinsider.com/image/53038ea76da811aa73e82bdf-960/470053623.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>
<p>Now it feels like a Winter Olympics.</p>
<p><div class="KonaFilter image-container click-to-enlarge"><div class="image"><a title_source="Getty Images" title_caption="" class="zoomin" href="http://static4.businessinsider.com/image/53039113ecad04386e8338a1-960/470106035.jpg"><span class="sprites click-to-enlarge-icon" title="Click to enlarge"></span></a><p class="source"><span>Getty Images</span></p></div><p></p></div></p>

There Is Finally Some Winter Weather In Sochi And It's Awesome

<ul class="summary-list"><li>Athletes at the 2022 <keyword id="12090559" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="winter-olympics" source="Orion">Winter Olympics</keyword> are competing on fake <keyword id="12499848" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="snow" source="Orion">snow</keyword> — and that may become the norm.</li><li>If <keyword id="11896311" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="climate-change" source="Orion">climate change</keyword> is not addressed, many locations could be too warm to host <keyword id="12547268" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="winter-sports" source="Orion">winter sports</keyword> by 2080.</li></ul><p>As skiers and snowboarders hit the slopes in Zhangjiakou over the next few weeks on their quests for a gold medal, they'll be competing on fake snow.</p><p>While artificial snow has made an appearance at the Winter Olympics for decades, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/guides/streaming/2022-winter-olympics-schedule-how-to-watch">the Beijing Games</a> will be the <a href="https://qz.com/2116950/beijing-2022-will-be-the-first-winter-olympics-using-100-percent-fake-snow/">first to completely rely on it</a> — something that's likely to continue into the future.</p><div type="image" title="black and white headshot of Mario Molina" height="541" width="722" msid="89487349" hostid="261"></div>"What people will see on their television screens over the next week — where you have artificial snow being used for all of the sports against the backdrop of winter — is what the normal may very well look like for the Winter Olympics moving forward unless we address climate change quite rapidly," <a href="https://protectourwinters.org/about-pow/pow-team/">Mario Molina</a>, executive director of nonprofit environmental group <a href="https://protectourwinters.org/">Protect Our Winters</a>, told Insider.<p>A <a href="https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/13683500.2021.2023480">new report</a> published in January revealed that unless the world takes drastic measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and follow the <a href="https://www.un.org/en/climatechange/paris-agreement">2015 Paris Climate Agreement</a> goals, many of the locations that typically host the Winter Olympics will soon be too warm to accommodate winter sports. Of the 21 locations that have previously hosted the Games, only 10 could reliably accommodate snow sports by the 2050s and eight by the 2080s under a "high emission scenario," the report stated.</p><h2><strong>Artificial snow isn't a long-term solution for lack of snow</strong></h2><p><a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-snowfall" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener sponsored"></a></p><div type="image" title="headshot of McKenzie Skiles in the snow" height="687" width="917" msid="89487350" hostid="261"></div><a href="https://www.epa.gov/climate-indicators/climate-change-indicators-snowfall">Snowfall is decreasing</a> worldwide as air temperatures rise or become more variable and more precipitation falls as rain instead of snow, <a href="https://faculty.utah.edu/u0458147-S._McKenzie_Skiles/hm/index.hml">McKenzie Skiles</a>, a geography assistant professor at the University of Utah and snow hydrology expert, told Insider.<p>"Warmer temperatures also make snow melt faster," Skiles said. "So we lose snow both at the beginning of winter as it accumulates and we're losing it earlier in the season to faster melt."</p><p>Zhangjiakou, a city about 100 miles away from Beijing where this year's Olympic skiing and snowboarding events are held, remains cold but dry, so the <a href="https://qz.com/1213121/beijing-2022-winter-olympics-will-rely-entirely-on-artificial-snow/">city always planned to use snow-making machines</a>. <a href="https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2022-01-22/beijing-winter-olympics-first-to-rely-on-artificial-snow?sref=P6xXtEaF">Winter precipitation there has averaged just 7.9 millimeters</a> a year over the past 40 years.</p><p>"We can look at Beijing as an example of what the future of the Winter Olympics could be like, regardless of venue, in a warming scenario," Molina said. Other locations may increasingly embrace artificial snow for future Olympic events, but it's not necessarily a solution, he added. Artificial snow still needs low temperatures and low humidity for the precipitation to freeze.</p><p>Energy and a water supply are also needed to produce artificial snow, which adds an environmental impact. Skiles said many ski resorts use <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Business/wireStory/ski-resorts-aim-efficient-snowmaking-amid-drought-82455164">snowmaking ponds</a>, where water is collected and used to create snow later. But without that resource, tapping into a local water supply might be necessary.</p><h2><strong>Decreased <keyword id="13147712" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="60" keywordseo="snowfall" source="Orion">snowfall</keyword> will likely change winter sports in the future </strong></h2><p>Artificial snow also impacts Olympic athletes' performance and can increase the likelihood of injury. "Man-made snow doesn't act the same as natural snow. It tends to be much firmer, it gets icier faster, and it's a faster surface," US Olympic cross-country skier <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/01/21/1074872876/could-the-world-become-too-warm-to-hold-winter-olympics">Rosie Brennan told NPR </a>recently.</p><p>Exactly how climate change will affect the future of the Winter Olympics is tough to predict, and different sports will be impacted differently, these experts said. For example, Skiles said cross-country skiing, which is typically done at low elevations most at risk of losing snow, could move to higher elevations. Fewer locations may be able to host outdoor winter sports in the future, and some places may create indoor skiing venues, like <a href="https://www.skidxb.com/">Ski Dubai</a>.</p><p>As viewers watch this year's Olympics, Molina hopes it will raise awareness about how climate change is affecting snowfall and push governments, corporations, and individuals to come together to address the problem. </p><p>"The warming is happening now," Skiles said. "But we still get snow, and skiing is still possible in a lot of places. If we address the worst of the emissions and address the root causes of climate change, we could slow it down and minimize it. It's not a dire future if we can still take action now."</p>

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