Climate change: vacationers flee into the cooler Alps!

Climate change: vacationers flee into the cooler Alps!

Blatten, Schweiz - climate change has a significant impact on the natural environment and tourism in the Alpine region. Studies show that the annual average temperatures in the Alps rise twice as quickly as the global average. According to pnp.de increased by 2.5 degrees, while the temperatures in Austria have risen by 3.1 and in Switzerland by 2.9 degrees.

In addition, experts predict that the annual mean temperature in the Alpine region could increase by at least another 2 degrees by the end of the century. This has an immediate effect on the glaciers that have lost around 60% of their volume in Switzerland since 1850. The clash of rising temperatures and natural hazards means that winter sports become more difficult depending on the altitude, which influences the Alpentourism

changes in tourism

The outdoor season in summer is extended, which potentially moves more vacationers into the mountains. Due to increasing temperatures in Mediterranean countries, more and more people in higher altitudes of the Alps are expanding. This tendency is supported by the results of the "Klima.sport.Schnee" expert forum, which a position paper presented on the Zugspitze at the second Alpine climate summit.

However, climate change also brings ecological and economic challenges. The need for technical snow -making in winter sports requires more energy and water, which drives the costs. Changing conditions also mean that sports events have to be increasingly moved to higher locations. Bund Naturschutz indicates that the adaptability to climate change is limited, which requires the development of new strategies.

dangers and adaptation strategies

The increasing temperatures not only favor summer tourism, they also have a direct impact on the environment and the associated security. Natural hazards like Muren and rock falls increase. One example is the clash in Blatten, Switzerland, where parts of the village were overwhelmed, but evacuated residents were preserved from a larger disaster in good time. Experts also expect increased degenrestries due to increasing heavy rain events, which could endanger security in the Alps.

In order to meet these challenges, the Vitalpin project analyzes the influence of climate change on the alpine habitat and tourism. Adaptation strategies and climate protection measures are discussed in eight chapters. The need to adapt to climate change is also underlined with regard to the development of new offers and communication strategies between tourism companies and guests.