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February 10, 2026
Competition is not the only thing heating up at this year’s Olympic Winter Games in Italy. As climate change brings warmer temperatures, the future of winter sports is increasingly uncertain. This year, climate is at the forefront of conversations leading up to the Winter Games, especially given that Italy has already lost 265 ski resorts due to rising temperatures.
As Italy’s alpine region warms and experiences sharp declines in snowfall, Winter Game organizers have planned to make 3.1 million cubic yards of artificial snow, requiring 250 million gallons of water (the equivalent of nearly 380 Olympic swimming pools). The use of artificial snow is not new to the Olympics. The 2022 Beijing Olympics were the first Winter Games to rely almost entirely on artificial snow, using 49 million gallons of water (the equivalent of one day’s drinking water for roughly 100 million people).
Hikers enjoy fresh snowfall in Italy's Dolomite mountains. Credit: Mark Soetebier, Pexels.
Snow is more than just the foundation of winter sports. Snow- and ice-covered mountain systems are the world’s “water towers.” They hold 50% of the Earth’s fresh water and provide drinking water for two billion people. In some western U.S. states, snowmelt accounts for up to 75% of the water supply, which is used for everything from farm irrigation to city drinking water.
As the International Olympic Committee (IOC), the board responsible for overseeing the Games, considers future host cities, climate change is a looming problem. One study found that only 45 to 55 of the 93 eligible mountain locations would have the snow depth and cold temperatures needed to host the Winter Games in the 2050s, assuming high-emission scenarios. That number drops to four when considering only cities capable of hosting without artificial snowmaking. By the 2080s, as few as 30 of these 93 cities would be eligible. The outlook is even worse for the Paralympic Games, which usually follow the Winter Games in March when the weather is warming up—only four of the 93 locations would remain reliable in the 2080s. The study has influenced the IOC to consider a permanent pool of host cities for future Winter Games.
Beyond the Olympics, the effects of climate change will be seen at home at ski resorts and other winter recreational facilities across the country as they grapple with rising temperatures. Ski resorts can be found from Virginia to Maine, the Upper Midwest, the Rocky Mountains, and the West Coast. For certain regions, like the Rocky Mountains, skiing and other recreational winter sports are an integral part of local economies. Nationwide, winter activities bring in around $3.4 billion in local spending, $4.5 billion in GDP, and 57,000 jobs each year.
Less snowfall and shortened seasons, both driven by climate change, jeopardize the future of this industry. Ideal conditions for skiing include snow with low water content and around eight or more inches of fresh powder. Adverse conditions like dry spells, warm weather, and rain-soaked snow have become more prevalent after an average temperature increase of about 2.8°F in the United States since 1970. A study found that between 1982 and 2016, an area of snow cover in the western United States the size of South Carolina decreased in snow mass by 41%. An analysis by nonprofit group Protect Our Winters found that a low-snow year costs the ski industry over $1 billion and 17,400 jobs.
Less snow means shorter ski seasons. One study found that the average U.S. ski season between 2000 and 2019 was shorter by 5.5 to 7.1 days than the average season between 1960 and 1979, even with snowmaking. With fewer skier visits and higher snowmaking costs, shortened seasons lead to direct economic losses estimated at $252 million annually on average for both high- and low-snow years. This amount is expected to increase in the future.
By the 2050s, ski seasons are projected to be 14 to 33 days shorter than in 1960–1979 under low-emission scenarios, and 27 to 62 days shorter under high-emission scenarios, leading to direct economic losses of between $657 million and $1.352 billion annually. In the Northeast, only about half of ski areas will be economically viable by 2050.
These climate-induced effects are already impacting Vail Resorts, the largest mountain-resort operator in North America, which reported a 20% decline in visitors during the 2025-2026 snow season compared to the previous year. Consequently, revenue from their ski school, ski lifts, and dining fell. Vail Resorts attributes this decline to a historically below-average snowfall of only 50% of the historical 30-year average snowfall at their western U.S. resorts. The company’s Rocky Mountain locations also opened just 11% of their terrain in December 2025, as snowfall there was 60% below the historical 30-year average.
Like Olympic host cities, ski resorts can use snowmaking machines to compensate for below-average snowfall—but it is by no means a silver bullet. Snowmaking machines still require a freezing atmosphere with a wet-bulb temperature, which takes humidity into account, of 27 degrees or less.
Snowmaking machines are also energy- and water-intensive. The snowmaking process can account for 67% of all the energy used at ski resorts, and the machines are traditionally powered by fossil fuels, which exacerbates the climate change causing the need for artificial snowmaking. Cleaner, more efficient snowmaking machines exist and many resorts are receptive to these sustainable alternatives, but the machines still use a significant amount of water. About 200,000 gallons of water are needed to cover just one acre with one foot of snow. That can amount to millions of gallons of water per year for resorts that do not receive their typical snowfall. This high water demand can pose challenges in drought-prone areas, such as the western United States. Elevated energy and resource needs have a significant financial cost too, with ski resorts spending anywhere from $500,000 to over $3.5 million per year on artificial snow. And while skiers may prefer artificial snow to no snow at all, artificial snow is slicker and icier, heightening the risk of injuries.
Given likely future climatic conditions, ski resorts and the winter sports industry as a whole must adapt and innovate to mitigate their climate footprint and build resilience to safeguard the future of winter sports. Many ski resorts across the country are already taking measures to lower the industry’s carbon footprint, whether by switching to renewable energy sources, adopting energy-efficient snowmaking equipment, or increasing public transportation options to their resorts. Efforts to safeguard the U.S. winter sport industry and its contribution to jobs and economic activity in rural areas can be furthered through state and federal support.
State-backed programs that encourage switching to renewable or energy-efficient options are one opportunity to reduce the ski industry’s environmental impact. For example, the state-backed energy efficiency utility Efficiency Vermont has invested in energy efficiency measures in nearly all of the state’s 20 ski areas. These investments are expected to save over $177 million for the ski industry and avoid over 1.8 billion pounds of greenhouse gas emissions.
Inversely, due to the massive amount of electricity, water, and other resources they require, ski resorts are influential utility customers that can bring influence to bear on their local utility’s adoption of renewable energy. Since 2008, the director of environmental affairs at Aspen Skiing Company in Colorado has lobbied the board of its rural co-op utility, Holy Cross Energy, to shift to renewable energy. Holy Cross now has a goal to buy 100% of its power from renewable sources by 2030.
At the federal level, the U.S. Forest Service (USFS), under the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), partners closely with ski resorts across the country, as over one quarter of ski resorts reside in national forests, accounting for over one third of total visits to the national forests. With an average 23 million skiers visiting national parks each year, the U.S. national forest system estimates that downhill skiing tourism generates $2.16 to $4.39 billion annually in economic activity, and supports 65,000 full or part-time jobs. One study projected that climate change will decrease ski- and snowboard-related economic activity in U.S. national forests by $172 to $374 million annually.
The USFS plays an important role in supporting the ski industry’s adaptation and resilience strategies. The agency issues water permits for snowmaking, facilitates infrastructure adaptation, and supports climate research to assess climate risk and management strategies. One paper published by the USDA delineates potential adaptation and resilience strategies for the USFS and the ski industry to collaborate on and implement:
Congress has also addressed climate impacts on the winter sport industry. In the 118th Congress, the Senate Budget Committee held a hearing, Recreation at Risk: The Nature of Climate Costs, which discussed how climate change affects outdoor recreation—including winter sports like skiing—due to reduced snow and other changing conditions. Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.) stated, “Winter sports have been a huge economic driver in Utah and states across the country. But climate change is wreaking havoc on communities and industries that depend on snow.” Most recently, in the 119th Congress, the House passed the Snow Water Supply Forecasting Reauthorization Act (H.R. 3857). The bipartisan bill reauthorizes and updates the Department of the Interior’s Snow Water Supply Forecasting Program to support advanced technology that more accurately predicts snowpack and water supply—critical to informed decision-making about water storage and distribution in snowy areas. Federal policymakers have also been outspoken about the critical need for full funding and adequate staffing for the USFS to continue its work.
From the IOC and pro athletes to ski resort operators and federal actors, the entire winter sports community has a role to play to ensure these activities can be enjoyed for generations to come. The 2026 Winter Games is another reminder of what is at stake—and what can be done to ensure these sports can continue in the future, for Olympians and recreational enthusiasts alike.
The IOC has mandated that the Summer and Winter Olympics be climate positive starting in 2030—which includes the 2034 Winter Games in Salt Lake City, Utah. This commitment entails that each host city’s Olympic organization committee go a step beyond the existing goal of carbon neutrality to support lasting, zero-carbon solutions (as opposed to just temporarily reducing or offsetting emissions during their games). This new mandate opens opportunities not only for the Olympics but also for the winter sports community at large to rethink how climate change will impact their sport.
With the Winter Games returning to the United States in 2034, the U.S. winter sports community has an opportunity to develop and employ solutions that meet the IOC’s climate-positive commitment requirements and implement long-lasting zero-carbon solutions.
Author: Laura Gries
Advancing science-based climate solutions
Top-Rated Climate Nonprofit – 4-Star Charity