Weather and Climate Services for Ski Resorts. Full Report on Weather and Climate Services for Cryosphere Management and Tourism

<jats:p>Recent observations and scientific studies illustrate the changing conditions affecting ski facilities. The year 2024 was the warmest on record, at 1.55°C above pre-industrial levels. The hydrological years 2021/2022 to 2023/2024 constituted the most negative three-year glacier mass balance period on record (WMO, 2025). In the European Alps, winters warmed by 0.3–0.4°C per decade between 1968 and 2017, while snow-cover duration shortened by 5–7 days per decade, with the strongest declines at low and intermediate elevations (Monteiro and Morin, 2023). A study of 2,234 European ski resorts found that, without snowmaking, 53 per cent face very high snow-supply risk at 2°C of global warming, rising to 98 per cent at 4°C (François et al., 2023). During the 2025–2026 season, weather conditions forced the cancellation of 25 FIS World Cup races. The guide is organized around three types of decisions. For day-to-day operations, real-time observations, nowcasting, short-range forecasts, hazard warnings and avalanche bulletins can support lift safety, grooming, snowmaking, visitor communications and event-day decisions. For seasonal planning, extended-range, sub-seasonal and seasonal outlooks can inform opening and closing dates, staffing, budgets, snowmaking strategy, water and energy planning, marketing and event scheduling. For long-term planning and adaptation, climate monitoring, historical records and climate projections can support decisions on infrastructure, snowmaking capacity, diversification, insurance and other investments. The guide also presents specialized applications, including snow-reliability indicators, snowmaking decision-support systems, climate-risk assessments, weather derivatives and parametric insurance. Emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, high-resolution modeling and connected sensors offer additional opportunities to improve monitoring and decision-making, although safety-critical applications should continue to be supported by appropriate expertise and established operational procedures.</jats:p>