Global Warming Bad For Ski Industry

There’s a new reason to decry global warming: it might mean less snow to ski on.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, a group of scientists from 120 countries, said Tuesday that global warming may be reducing the world’s snowfall and jeopardizing the skiing industry in many countries.

Wild animals that live in snowy habitats also risk extinction because they have to move to higher and higher altitudes to find new homes, the scientists said.

“With temperatures rising, there are big risks of extinction for (high-altitude) animal species and a (threat to) … the ski industry” said Martin Beniston, a panel delegate from Switzerland.

The buildup of carbon dioxide and certain pollutants in the atmosphere can cause global warming. Experts say such warming would lead to a rise in sea levels and could alter wind, rainfall and snowfall patterns.

On Tuesday, the scientists discussed the risks that global warming poses to the world’s mountains. Later this week, they are to complete a report outlining policies governments could adopt to fight global warming.