Has Environmental Abuse Finally Gone too Far?
The winter around here started quite normally. It got cold in November and we expected the first snow. Which didn’t come.
We hoped for snow in January. It didn’t come.
“Last december and this January appears unusually mild to many people of the northern hemisphere. There are not only reports of higher temperatures, trees and flowers started to bloom in winter, ice bears dropped hibernation and migratory birds decided to stay home in their summer habitat.”
Being an outdoor person, I love skiing and ski tours. This year I haven’t been able to do even a single tour. If you look at the local snow report from my company, there is nothing. And don’t be fooled by the perfect conditions on the mountains, this is what it looks like:
It’s not the first time this has happened, of course. I’ve seen years where off-piste skiing was nearly impossible. But this year it’s even too warm for artificial snow. When I got up this morning, we had nearly 14° C (about 55° F). In January, the coldest month of the year!
“Unseasonably warm weather in Europe’s Alps has left skiers and snowboarders unable to scratch their winter itch. Meanwhile, the winter tourism industry is suffering, and the Swiss ski team has left for Canada in search of whiter pastures. (…) Balmy temperatures have forced the cancellation of World Cup ski races at some of Europe’s most prized slopes, like France’s Val d’Isere and Switzerland’s St. Moritz.”
- SPIEGEL / No Snow in the Alps
And the past few days we even got a hurricane. Various news sources reported.
“The winter storm Kyrill caused considerable damage and several injuries in Austria overnight with wind speeds reaching 148 kilometres per hour in the early hours of Friday and top speeds of up to 166 km/h recorded in mountainous areas.”
- m & c
Seriously, has environmental abuse finally gone too far?
Tags: austria, environment, outdoor, private, snow
