top cx logo
cx logo
Explorearrow down
search icon
Explore
arrow down

French ski stations prepare for 'no snow' by 2030

French ski stations are preparing for a future without reliable snow by 2030, and looking into alternative ways to attract tourists in the winter months.

According to experts, climate change is leading several ski stations - especially those at lower altitudes - to seek alternative means of attracting tourists over the winter, as the levels of snow expected to fall continue to drop on average year-on-year, explains French newspaper Le Monde.

Despite this year’s huge drop of snow - especially in the French Alps - by 2030, it is expected that there will be significantly less snow at lower altitude overall, with climate change causing the height of the “rain-snow line” (the altitude at which rain turns to snow) to increase significantly.

As the rain-snow line increases, skiers will be forced to go ever higher in altitude to find the powder they crave, and there will be less and less snow.

“Everything is related to global warming,” explains Christophe Chaix, a climatologist at the Agence Alpine des Territoires, speaking to Le Monde. “Before 1989, we always had good, snowy seasons. Then, a rise of 1C by 1990 led to the rain-snow line rising by 200 metres - which is 25% less snow. And it will continue to rise.”

Despite there being several ways to create fake snow, they can often be cumbersome and expensive, and ski stations lower down the mountain fear that they will no longer be able to pull in tourists looking purely for snow sports.

In response to this, certain stations are already anticipating a change, including Chamrousse, near Grenoble, which is aiming to offer a raft of alternative options for tourists by 2030, including new three- and four-star hotels, seminar centres, and a “balneotherapy” spa centre, which do not rely on the snow to operate.

Some ski stations are currently still using methods to create fake snow, including the use of snow canons, and even enlisting trucks to re-distribute snow from high-snowfall areas to those without enough, with some even storing it over the summer.

Yet, these methods can be very expensive and use huge amounts of water, power, organisation and labour time, and arguably do not produce the same quality of snow as their natural counterpart.

Stay informed:
Sign up to our free weekly e-newsletter
Subscribe to access all our online articles and receive our printed monthly newspaper The Connexion at your home. News analysis, features and practical help for English-speakers in France

Resident or second-home owner in France?
Benefit from our daily digest of headlines and how-to's to help you make the most of life in France
By joining the newsletter, you agree to our Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy
See more popular articles
The Connexion Help Guides
featured helpguide
Income Tax in France 2023 (for 2022 income)*
Featured Help Guide
- Primarily aimed at Britons, covers pensions, rent, ISAs, shares, savings and interest - but also contains significant general information pertinent to readers of other nationalities - Overview of online declarations + step-by-step guide to the French printed forms - Includes updates given automatically after this year's site opened
Get news, views and information from France