International Expert Forum Climate.Snow.Sport - D-A-CH

The protection of the climate and the adaptation to climate change represent one of the most significant social, economic and technological challenges currently facing our society. Furthermore, climate change is inextricably linked to altered framework conditions and uncertainties regarding winter sports, both for tourist and for those engaged in competitive sports. Notwithstanding the progress that has been made in climate research, a number of questions remain unanswered, particularly in relation to the anticipated developments at the regional level.
A transnational expert hearing, entitled "Climate.Snow.Sport", was convened by the German Sport University (Institute of Outdoor Sports and Environmental Science), the Safety in Skiing Foundation (SIS) and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (Institute of Meteorology and Climate Research) on 1-2 October 2018 at the Schneefernerhaus/Zugspitze environmental research station and on 15-16 January 2019 in Ruhpolding.
Key questions:
To what extent does climate warming in Central European mountain regions differ from the global trend during the winter season?
What degree of certainty can be attributed to climate forecasts for the winter climate in Central Europe, both in the near term (up to 2050) and in the distant future (up to 2100)?
What are the expected variations in the duration and density of snow cover across the low mountain ranges of Germany and the Alpine region?
What impact does the vulnerability of atmospheric circulation have on the winter climate?
What effects can be anticipated with regard to technical snowmaking?
What strategies and measures for adaptation and climate protection are recommended?

In total, more than 20 authors from 14 scientific institutions contributed to the project, thereby enabling the current state of research to be presented for the first time in the form of a position paper and scientific articles in the specialist journal FdSnow, issue 53.