FIS and World Meteorological Organization Partner to Raise Climate Change Awareness

The International Ski and Snowboard Federation and the World Meteorological Organization have announced a new partnership to raise awareness for climate change and the impact it has on winter sports and tourism.

The initial five-year partnership aims to help national ski federations, venues and race organizers better understand weather forecasting to manage natural and artificial snow. A webinar for all 137 national ski associations, as well as venue managers and event organizers, is set for November 7.

“Ruined winter vacations and cancelled sports fixtures are – literally – the tip of the iceberg of climate change,” said WMO Secretary General Celeste Saulo. “Retreating glaciers, reduced snow and ice cover and thawing permafrost are having a major impact on mountain ecosystems, communities and economies and will have increasingly serious repercussions at local, national and global level for centuries to come.”

In 2023­–2024, FIS organized 616 World Cup races among all disciplines, spanning across 166 venues. Twenty-six races were cancelled for weather-related reasons. As global temperatures rise, the International Olympic Committee has said by 2040 just 10 countries could have a “climate-reliable” outlook to host snow events at a Winter Games.

The 2022 Beijing Winter Games relied entirely on artificial snow to stage Alpine races. Saudi Arabia is creating a ski resort with a man-made lake near the futuristic city Project Neom and preparing to host the 2029 Asian Winter Games. Climate change also caused issues at the 2024 Olympic Summer Games in Paris as the city experienced high temperatures.

The organizations will work together to highlight the impact of rising global temperatures on snow and ice cover and to establish practical initiatives to strengthen scientific and sporting dialogue. This is the first time that the United Nations’ specialized agency has partnered with an international sports federation.

“The climate crisis is obviously far bigger than FIS — or sports, for that matter: it is a genuine crossroads for mankind,” said Johan Eliasch, FIS president. “It is true, though, that climate change is, simply put, an existential threat to skiing and snowboarding. We would be remiss if we did not pursue every possible effort that is rooted in science and objective analysis. This is what we are trying to follow and what is at the core of this promising partnership with the WMO.”

In Switzerland, the federal weather office has said Alpine glaciers have lost about 60 percent of their volume since 1850.

“The thawing of frozen ground in mountain, arctic and sub-arctic regions has direct consequences on the stability of infrastructures built on it, as well as contributing to increasing the amount of carbon in the atmosphere,” the WMO said.