TURIN, Italy, Dec. 2 (UPI) -- Researchers said Tuesday that many low-altitude ski resorts are beginning to hurt as a result of global warming.
The researchers, from the University of Zurich, Switzerland, told a U.N. environmental conference the levels of snow falling in lower-lying mountain areas will become increasingly unpredictable and unreliable over the coming decades. For example, an estimated 15 percent of Switzerland's ski resorts have developed unreliable levels of snowfall.
"The impacts of climate change on winter tourism may be even more severe in countries such as Germany or Austria due to the lower altitudes of their ski resorts," the researchers said. They added that ski resorts in North America and Australia also will be impacted.
Global warming is expected to be stronger on land areas in the northern hemisphere during the winter months, making mountain-based winter tourism acutely vulnerable. Warmer temperatures also will make artificial snowmaking increasingly inefficient and expensive, the researchers said.
