Due to the lack of snow, the Jizerská podesátka race was canceled this year for only the sixth time in history. The organizers of the Biathlon World Championships in Nové Město na Morava are also dealing with higher temperatures and wind, but they are adding snow to the track from stored supplies. And similar difficulties are not the only problem in the Czech Republic. Will skiing change due to warming?
What you will also hear in today’s episode at 5:59
- About the significant decrease in snow and the rising trend of warm winters.
- How the Czech Republic and neighboring Austria cope with the lack of snow cover.
- And how short, warm winters could affect skiing in Bohemia in the near future.
The cancellation of the Jizerská padasátka ski race confirmed the unfortunate trend of the last decade: the snow is already decreasing even in the middle locations and there are more and more warm days during the winter months. “It looks like this is the new normal,” says the climatologist on the 5:59 podcast Pavel Zahradníček from the Institute of Global Change Research of the Czechglobe Academy of Sciences.
The podcast caught up with him during the interview in Kaprun in the Austrian Alps. The expert was amazed at the fact that the temperatures there these days are staying at April values, i.e. around fifteen degrees. “This is something unimaginable, I must admit,” thinks Zahradníček.
However, according to him, one indisputable fact emerges from the research – warm winters have significantly increased in the last ten years, at the expense of cold ones. The climatologist compares the situation with the 1960s and finds huge differences, especially in the amount of snow.
“If we were to take the days when there was more than 10 centimeters of snow on the surface, that would be a drop of two-thirds compared to what it was in the 1960s,” says the climatologist, who is also a member of the Intersucho team.
Question of the day: what is not much in that picture? Hint: it’s the beginning of February, Zell am See, 15 C outside, people have taken their bikes out, I’m sunbathing in the gardens and walking around the lake. pic.twitter.com/LIawP6Pqz6
— Pavel Zahradníček (@pavelzahrad) February 4, 2024
According to him, the situation in the Czech Republic is similar to the course of the winter experienced by the Austrians. For example, at an altitude of 800 meters above sea level, where the Austrian Kaprun is located, there is hardly any snow. Outside, he meets cyclists rather than skiers, and he has to go to higher altitudes for skiing.
It is therefore necessary to be satisfied with artificially maintained slopes and tracks. But Austria has many years of experience with something like this, and on top of that, it uses the most modern technologies. In addition to the rainwater collection tanks needed for artificial snowmaking, there are, for example, solar panels that help cover the huge energy consumption.
According to the climatologist, even such “help” might not be enough for Czech ski resorts in the future. “The models have shown us that, for example, in the lowlands in the Hradec Králové region, the amount of snow should decrease by 70 percent in the next 20 years, by 2040,” he describes. And according to him, the winter season will also be shortened in the Krkonoše Mountains, the mountainous region of the region. And that in twenty to twenty-five days.
Photo: AVČR
Climatologist Pavel Zahradníček.
Problems with artificial snow
What will happen to skiing, among other things, with such a development? Can sports fans expect that the organizers will cancel the Jizera 50 more and more often? This is what the second guest of this episode of the 5:59 podcast, a sports sociologist, tries to answer Vojtěch Ondráček. He too offers a rather pessimistic outlook and draws attention to the fact that since the 80s of the last century, for example, world cups in downhill skiing have been held on artificial snow.
In the Czech Republic, however, many centers, for example those near smaller towns and villages, do not have such expensive equipment. Ondráček also thinks that the Jizerská podesátka race would not necessarily be helped by technology. According to him, they would not produce a sufficient amount of artificial snow at the current high temperatures.
Photo: Barbora Sochorová, Seznam Zpravy
Sociologist of sport Vojtěch Ondráček.
In addition, the sociologist points out that precisely by fighting against climate change in sports, we get into a “cycle” in which we support other similar changes.
“We will probably have to limit ourselves to only a few selected centers, those in the lower positions have no chance to continue in this setting,” says Ondráček, who is also the author of the sports podcast Outsider. Another option is then exclusively artificial slopes and tracks for cross-country skiers, which already exist in the world. In the Czech Republic, in connection with this, the construction of a multi-sports venue for winter sports in Prague’s Chuchla is planned.
Sport as a social identity
According to Ondráček, such a development leads unstoppably to the point where the winged phrase “what’s Czech, what’s an athlete” will no longer apply. This idea was strengthened especially during socialism and was given not only by the availability of sports in the temperate zone, but also by the tendency of the then regime to support movement. That is changing now.
“Skiing within those mass sports, sports that everyone does and has free access to, is becoming more and more exclusive. In this case, maybe you have to have the money to move to where the skiing is,” he says. And from there it is said to be just a step towards sport as a new social identity.
Put simply: someone will have money for sports like skiing and someone will not. According to Ondráček, we can already see that sports are becoming more professional and that people are specializing only in certain activities. “It depends on how much money you have, whether you come from a sports family or one with a higher cultural capital. A family that has a higher cultural capital and sports is not that important there, does not do so many sports, but has its chosen one, which is skiing,” adds Ondráček.
In the 5:59 podcast, you will also learn about the Czech skiing tradition or the loss of the Czech Republic’s position as a hockey superpower in connection with climate change. Listen in the player at the beginning of the article.
Editor and co-editor: Dominika Kubištová, Eduard Freisler
Sound design: David Kaiser
Sources of audio samples: ČT24, ČT sport, TV Nova, CNN Prima News, Český rozhlas Radiožurnál, Voyo.cz, iSport.cz, YouTube channel Czechoslovak Film Weekly
Podcast 5:59
The news podcast of Lenka Kabrhelova’s team. One essential topic every weekday in minute six. The most important events in the Czech Republic, in the world, politics, economy, sport and culture through the lens of Seznam Zpráv.
You can find an archive of all parts on our website. Send us your observations, comments or tips via social networks or by e-mail: [email protected].
