Just as the Tibet meteorological station successfully created its first artifical snowfall in northern Tibet, proving its possible for human to change the weather, scientists warn that artificial snow could harm alpine water systems.
Chinese scientists are concerned that rising temperatures on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau will melt glaciers, drying up major Chinese rivers and trigger drought, sandstorms and desertification.
Scientists say this practice would sap water reserves by changing seasonal water cycles.
Carmen de Jong said about the practice of ski resorts, “To make artificial snow all day long and during the whole season is just completely irresponsible for our climate, especially on such a large scale.” She is professor and research manager at the Mountain Institute at the University of Savoie in France.
Water used for the snow comes from surface streams, artificial reservoirs and increasingly from ground reserves.
De Jong said by keeping water in surface reservoirs instead of in the ground and by spraying it through the air to create the snow, about a third of the water evaporates, forming clouds that travel to other regions.
Water levels in some areas have already dropped 70%. Some Alpine villages, which previously got most of their drinking water from mountain streams, now have to pump water from the ground to ensure drinking supplies.
“This could also have an enormous impact on the Mediterranean Sea if river discharges continue to fall,” she said.
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