Australia's snow season worst in decades
Australia has had its worst snow season in decades. It's left ski enthusiasts worried about the future of the country's alpine regions especially in the face of climate change.
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00:00 Hitting the slopes has looked a little different this year.
00:05 I think it's a bit of a washout.
00:07 Climate change is definitely having an impact.
00:09 It is a bit scary to see that there's this little snowfall.
00:14 Major resorts like Perisher have been forced to close some runs,
00:18 while Selwyn has had to close its doors a month early.
00:22 A lot of emotions come up when you do see the seasons like this
00:27 and you also know through the data and the models that we look at
00:33 that it's not a one-off.
00:35 Professor Ken Green is a backcountry skier
00:38 who has studied snowfall for the past 45 years.
00:42 He says it's been on a steady decline
00:44 as a warming planet dramatically alters alpine environments
00:48 across the world.
00:50 So many of the plants and animals in the alpine area
00:53 are only found in those areas.
00:55 So what's going to happen is that a number of species
00:58 are going to be able to move up and basically take over their territory
01:02 and I can see that meaning the end of a lot of species.
01:06 Warmer weather and less snowfall has meant a smaller volume of snow
01:10 and little to no snow at lower elevations.
01:13 So what does this mean for the snow industry?
01:15 Perisher says it's adapting to ensure the viability of its ski fields.
01:20 Investment in the snowmaking has enabled us, our guests,
01:23 to have a really good experience right from the opening weekend
01:26 through to the closing weekend in October.
01:28 Others who love the snow insist there is a future if people act.
01:33 Get people involved to be a lot more conscious of their choices
01:36 around their own greenhouse gas emissions.
01:38 A strong hope that the ski slopes don't disappear for good.
01:42 [BLANK_AUDIO]