05 January 2023 , 12:00
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The ski season is in the midst of a crisis as half of France's slopes have had to close amid record temperatures fuelled by global heating.
Alpine enthusiasts have found themselves on muddy hillside this December and January as rain and sleet combine with warm weather to melt the snow, with resorts in the northern Alps and French Pyrenees affected.
Ski resort Ax 3 Domaines was forced to temporarily close, while the likes of Le Gets and Morzine have only opened a limited number of runs.
“The period immediately after Christmas was the warmest since 1997 in France”, with “exceptionally high” temperatures recorded, The Local France reported.
Temperatures around 8C higher than the seasonal average has devastated many of the ski resorts at a lower altitude and made winter sports impossible.
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Many skiers have filmed themselves standing on mud as ski lifts trundle overhead.
The situation at the Villars-sur-Ollon, Switzerland (LAURENT GILLIERON/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)Austrian ski resorts in the Salzburg region have had no snow for at least a month, while parts of Switzerland are 20C warmer than usual.
After years of warning that temperatures in the resorts were creeping up and making skiing harder and harder, the start of 2023 seems to be the realisation of many people's worst fears.
As the level of carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide emissions continue to increase and global temperatures rapidly rise, the situation is likely to get worse year-on-year.
The worsening conditions in the Alps may lead some winter sports enthusiasts to look elsewhere for a fresh piste.
Many of the resorts have had to close (AFP via Getty Images)One country which has become increasingly popular in recent years is Bosnia, which is known for offering cut price packages in comparison to France, Italy and Switzerland.
Unfortunately it is also suffering from a difficult winter due to unseasonably hot weather, leading visitors to the country to pack up and go home following New Year's celebrations at its resorts.
Hotel owners say bookings are down, and with them both room prices and staffing levels.
Tourism officials said holiday makers are forced to seek alternatives to skiing, like hiking on grassy mountaintops - or riding ski lifts, just for the views.
"Right now, when we should be welcoming skiers on our mountain, we have no snow so there is no doubt that our business will falter, that is to be expected," said Dino Korugic, manager of the Sunce hotel in Vlasic.
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The warm weather is a disaster for resorts at lower altitudes (AFP via Getty Images)"Our bookings correlate strongly with (the) weather forecast."
Record-high daily temperatures for this time of year have been beaten in recent days at hundreds of weather stations, in at least 10 countries: Bosnia, Belgium, Czechia, France, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Poland and Switzerland.
At least five of those - Belgium, Czechia, Latvia, Poland and the Netherlands - set national record daily highs for a December 31 or January 1.
The U.N.'s World Meteorological Organisation has long warned about the ill-effects of climate change, and say the last eight years have been the eight hottest on record.
The fallout this winter hasn't been limited to snowless slopes, where mid-range altitudes have been affected most of all: Weather officials and scientists say flora and fauna are feeling the impact too.
Meteorologist Florian Imbery of Germany's national weather service, DWD, said the temperature anomaly seen over the new year period could trigger unwanted plant growth - exposing crops to greater risk of frost damage later in the winter.
Biologist Livio Rey, spokesman for the Swiss Ornithological Institute, said many ducks that would normally migrate to Switzerland this time of year from Nordic countries don't come anymore, like the tufted duck.