Hokkaido’s famous powder snow at risk as global warming threatens tourism, daily life

A study predicts rising temperatures could transform the region’s light, fluffy snow into heavier, wetter flakes similar to those found in Honshu

Reading Time:2 minutes

Hokkaido’s powder snow may become heavier due to global warming, impacting winter sports tourism and daily life, warns a new study. Photo: Shutterstock

Published: 3:30pm, 31 Aug 2024Updated: 3:44pm, 31 Aug 2024

Hokkaido’s famed powder snow, a major draw for winter sports enthusiasts, is at risk of becoming heavier and wetter due to global warming according to a new study, potentially altering the region’s tourism landscape and daily life.

Scientists from Hokkaido University and the research institute of the Japan Meteorological Agency conducted a study indicating that the light, fluffy snow that Hokkaido is known for will become heavier and more like the “wet” snow found on Japan’s main island of Honshu, if average global temperature rises by as little as four degrees from pre-industrial levels.

To date, global temperatures are around two degrees higher than the average recorded in 1900, and there are concerns about the difficulty of reversing this trend or even stabilising current levels.

The scientists’ research, published in the Journal of Applied Meteorology and Climatology in July, examined the composition of snowflakes in Hokkaido and Honshu. The researchers found, ice particles in the colder atmosphere above Hokkaido absorb water vapour and develop into shapes such as needles, plates or dendrites.

These delicate flakes fall as smoother and lighter snow, commonly found in Hokkaido.

In Honshu, by contrast, snowflakes are typically formed by crystals that attract rime – a coating of tiny, frozen water droplets from the air – which makes them heavier and more similar to soft hail.