Assessing the Sustainability of Ski Fields in Southern Japan under Global Warming

This is the first study in assessing the impact of climate change on Japanese ski fields with ensemble dynamical downscaling simulations. We target three ski fields in Ehime Prefecture, a southern border area for skiing in Japan. Our field survey revealed that a field located above 1200 m altitudes currently operates on natural snow supply, but those located at lower altitudes depend solely or partially on artificial snow supply. Fields are currently open for 82-105 days. We analyzed ensemble high-resolution (5 km) dynamical downscaling simulations for future ski season durations with natural and artificial snow supplies. The future projection results for the end of the twenty-first century suggested that there would be virtually no natural snow accumulation in the study area for skiing. With artificial snow supply, a field located above 1200 in would be able to retain more than two months of ski season duration. Fields located at lower altitudes would only be able to open for 37-43 days even with artificial snow supply. While the above projections suggest a severe outlook for the targeted ski fields, it is important to note that there is a strong demand from local skiers at beginner/intermediate levels for these ski fields. Thus, as long as these demands remain in the future, and if a business model to maximize profit during short opening periods is established, it may be possible to offset profit loss due to climate change.