The warm temperatures and lack of snowfall in the Alps and the Pyrenees has actually left several ski resorts with little or no snow. The distinction in snow cover is noticeable in these Copernicus Sentinel-2 images caught in January 2022 compared to January 2023 which reveals the Flims, Laax, and Falera ski resorts in Switzerland.
Copernicus Sentinel– 2 is a two-satellite mission.
Credit: Contains modified Copernicus Sentinel information (2023 ), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
Europe has actually started the new year with an extreme winter heatwave. The warm temperature levels and absence of snowfall in the Alps and the Pyrenees has left several ski resorts with little or no snow. The difference in snow cover is visible in these Copernicus Sentinel-2 images captured in January 2022 compared to January 2023 which reveals the Flims, Laax, and Falera ski resorts in Switzerland.
According to the World Meteorological Organization, a high-pressure zone over the Mediterranean region and an Atlantic low-pressure system induced a strong southwest flux that brought warm air from northwest Africa to the middle latitudes. The air was further warmed when passing the North Atlantic owing to higher-than-normal sea surface area temperature levels.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite images recorded in January 2022 program snowy Swiss Alps. Credit: Contains customized Copernicus Sentinel information (2023 ), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
All this caused record-breaking heat on New Years Eve and New Years Day with temperatures above 20 ° C observed in numerous European countries. The suddenly warm weather comes after extremely hot weather in 2022 which saw the most popular summer season on record for Europe, according to the current Copernicus Climate Change Report published a couple of days ago.
Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite images captured in January 2023 reveals a lack of snow on the Swiss Alps. Credit: Contains customized Copernicus Sentinel data (2023 ), processed by ESA, CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO
In the 2023 satellite image, snow is more likely to be found on the peaks above 2000 m, while the ski slopes under this elevation have actually needed to count on artificial snow this season. Artificial ski slopes can be viewed as thin, white strips in the bottom of the 2023 image.
Copernicus Sentinel– 2 is a two-satellite objective. Each satellite carries a high-resolution electronic camera that images Earths surface in 13 spectral bands. Together they cover all Earths land surface areas, large islands, inland, and seaside waters every 5 days at the equator.