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

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.

Powder snow is considered ideal for winter sports because it allows skiers and snowboarders to glide smoothly and float on the surface, making turns easier and falls softer .

The academic team of four concluded that, “In the future, the riming process would become dominant for solid precipitation particles. This is similar to the conditions observed for solid precipitation over Hokuriku [along the Sea of Japan coast of northwest Honshu], which belongs to the temperate zone.”

The researchers added that “Solid precipitation would change to liquid precipitation in the future.”

In an interview with the Asahi newspaper, Yousuke Sato, an associate professor of meteorology at Hokkaido University, said the consequences of such a change could be dramatic.

“Hokkaido is popular among winter sports enthusiasts for its fluffy and light snow, but we need to think about what to do with tourism if the quality of snow changes,” he said. “If the snow becomes heavier, it can substantially impact people’s daily lives, such as snow clearing.”

Paul Butkovich, director of real estate sales for the H2 Group in the ski resort of Niseko, agrees that any deterioration in the quality of snow in Hokkaido would be damaging to the snow sports industry and everyone else employed in associated industries.

“It’s what we sell, powder, powder, powder,” he told This Week in Asia.

And he played down fears of Niseko and other world-famous winter sports destinations completely running out of high-quality powder snow.

“Is this a certainty? Of course not,” he said. “There will never not be powder snow in Niseko, but the reality is that the window for really good conditions is going to get smaller and the peak powder season will get shorter.

“But we will still get between 10 and 12 metres of powder a year,” he added.