Europe's largest summer ski resort has closed due to warming — media
Kyiv • UNN
Ski slopes on the Stelvio Glacier have been closed due to the heat and thunderstorms. Operators cannot guarantee snow quality or skier safety.
The Stelvio Glacier in the Italian Alps has halted operations at Europe’s last major summer ski resort. The slopes at the Stelvio Pass in South Tyrol usually operate from May to November, but due to the prolonged heat, operators announced a “painful but necessary decision,” UNN reports, citing Bild.
Details
The publication notes that the main problem is that high temperatures persist even at night, so the snow cover practically does not freeze. In addition, the region is regularly hit by severe thunderstorms. According to the operators, under such conditions they can no longer guarantee the necessary quality of the slopes and the safety of skiers.
In mid-August, abnormally high temperatures were recorded in the high-altitude areas of the Italian Alps, the ANSA news agency reports. At the Forni Glacier, at an altitude of more than two thousand meters, the temperature reached 17 degrees Celsius, while at the Passo Marinelli Pass, at an altitude of about three thousand meters, it reached nine degrees.
Because of the heat, the Swiss resorts of Zermatt and Saas-Fee also ended their summer skiing season early. Stelvio already halted operations in the summer of 2022, but at that time the slopes were able to reopen after approximately two months. The operators hope that cooler weather will make this possible again now.
“I do not think this can be sustained in the long term in its current form. One can try to artificially keep the resort operating, but that is no longer what nature is currently providing us in the mountains,” hydrologist Roberto Dinale told the Italian television channel Rai.