The UN and the International Ski Federation want to work together to draw attention to the effects of climate change on winter sports. On Thursday, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the Ski Federation (FIS) signed an agreement to this effect.
As part of this agreement, the two Swiss-based organizations are planning a collaboration between WMO scientists and winter sports enthusiasts, according to a press release issued by the WMO on Thursday.
Last season, almost five percent of all FIS competitions had to be canceled due to the weather. "Canceled winter vacations and canceled sporting events are - quite literally - just the tip of the iceberg of climate change," WMO Secretary General Celeste Saulo was quoted as saying in the press release. According to Saulo, the retreat of glaciers and the reduction in snow and ice cover are already having a major impact on ecosystems, the population and the economy in the affected regions.
Faced with this threat to skiing and snowboarding, it would be remiss not to pursue every possible effort based on science and objective analysis, FIS President Jonah Eliasch was quoted as saying. "The climate crisis is obviously far bigger than the FIS."
Plans under the agreement include, for example, training on climate change and its potential impact on snow, ice and snow sports for all 137 national ski federations as well as venues and organizers.
According to a study last year, more than half of the ski resorts would suffer from a lack of snow if the climate warmed by two degrees Celsius. With a warming of four degrees, practically all ski resorts would suffer.
SDA
