FIS and WMO partnership highlights the harmful effects of climate change on winter sports and tourism
The International Ski and Snowboard Federation (FIS) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) have announced a new partnership to raise awareness of the fact that winter sports and tourism face a bleak future because of climate change.
A new Memorandum of Understanding commits the organizations to work together to highlight the far-reaching impacts of rising global temperatures on snow and ice cover and to establish practical initiatives to strengthen scientific and sporting dialogue. This is the first time that WMO, as a United Nations’ specialized agency, partners with an international sports federation.
“Ruined winter vacations and cancelled sports fixtures are – literally – the tip of the iceberg of climate change. Retreating glaciers, reduced snow and ice cover and thawing permafrost are having a major impact on mountain ecosystems, communities and economies and will have increasingly serious repercussions at local, national and global level for centuries to come,” says WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo.
“The climate crisis is obviously far bigger than FIS − or sports, for that matter: it is a genuine crossroads for mankind. It is true, though, that climate change is, simply put, an existential threat to skiing and snowboarding. We would be remiss if we did not pursue every possible effort that is rooted in science and objective analysis. This is what we are trying to follow and what is at the core of this promising partnership with the WMO,” says FIS President Johan Eliasch.
In 2023/24, FIS organized 616 World Cup races among all disciplines, spanning across 166 venues. Twenty-six races were cancelled for weather-related reasons.
