Is climate change to blame for the increasing closure of European ski resorts?

As the weather cools down, many of us will be thinking of a trip to the slopes. However, thanks to the impact of climate change, more ski resorts are being forced to close for good. 

In the small Alpine resort of Grand Puy, in Seyne-les-Alpes, France, a ‘télésiège’ - or chairlift - has been ferrying skiers up to an altitude of 1,800m for some 65 years. 

Now, due to an increasingly frequent absence of snow and a lack of visitors, locals have voted to shutter the lift and the winter resort as a whole. 

Seyne-les-Alpes, with a permanent population of just over 1,305, was making losses of hundreds of thousands of euros every year, according to the town council.

Locals were given the chance to vote on whether or not to keep the resort open and, in the end, 71 per cent chose to bring it to a close. 

From 1 November, the lifts will stop running at Grand Puy and the community will instead focus on expanding the development of “activities independent of the ski lifts”. 

Across Europe and the wider world, climate change is affecting a number of mid- to low-altitude ski resorts. Many now have no choice but to diversify and invest in all-season activities to attract visitors back and improve their economies. 

During the ski season earlier in 2023, the popular French resort of  Saint-Colomban-des-Villards had to stop its lifts running completely, after a significant lack of snow combined with temperatures climbing up to 13°C. The resort’s average February temperature is, in contrast, just over 4°C.

Grand Puy boasts more than 24 km of slopes, but has seen visitor numbers halve over the last decade. 

During the 2013-14 season, officials recorded 17,000 skier days; in the same period from 2023-24, that figure was just 6,000.

“My aim is not to