NE NEWS SERVICE
TOKYO, JAN 17
Record low snowfall in Japan has forced many ski resorts to shut their doors and is threatening a World Cup ski jumping competition, with organisers forced to truck in extra powder. Northern Japan saw just 38 per cent of its average snowfall in December, with only a “little” snow seen in western Japan, the country’s meteorological agency said.
The snowfall figures for December are the lowest since the organisation started collecting records in 1961, an agency official said on Thursday. “There are various factors behind the small amount of snow this season but climate change is among them,” Motoaki Takekawa, an official from the agency’s global environment section, said. Daisen White Resort in Tottori, western Japan, has been shut since early January after opening over the year-end holiday thanks to a sprinkle of snow and 10 machines that pumped out artificial powder.
Since January 6, however, it has been so warm that even the fake snow has melted on the slopes. “The shortage has battered not only our resort but snow-related businesses here such as hotels and rental ski shops,” said Masahiro Ozeki, an official at the resort.
The slope is scheduled to partially re-open on Friday after snow fell on Wednesday. “But we are still concerned about the rest of the season as less snow is expected in February,” Ozeki said. According to local media, more than a third of ski resorts across Japan have stayed closed since the beginning of the year. Courtesy: AFP
