Major Australian alpine resorts are set to close their ski operations up to a month early due to a winter that has broken multiple heat records and experienced limited snowfall. The combination of a developing El Niño and global heating has resulted in challenging conditions for the ski season.

Early Closures Announced

This week, several resorts announced the end of their ski operations, including Mount Buller, Mount Hotham, and Falls Creek in Victoria, as well as Charlotte Pass in New South Wales. These resorts will cease operations this weekend. Other resorts, such as Mount Baw Baw, Selwyn, and Ben Lomond in Tasmania, have already closed.

Typically, resorts aim to remain open until the first weekend of October, but this year’s conditions have forced an early end.

Challenging Weather Conditions

Resorts have cited "challenging" weather conditions and a lack of snowfall as the primary reasons for the early closures. Dr. Andrew Watkins, a climate scientist and adjunct professor at Monash University, noted that this season has been particularly disappointing, marking the fourth consecutive poor season since 2020. He stated:

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"The season was frankly a shocker. The problems were El Niño and climate change. It was not that dry this year, but the problem was the warmth. The heat just did us in."

Watkins explained that winter temperatures have been too high, causing precipitation that could have fallen as snow to instead fall as rain, which negatively impacts the snowpack.