Want to Ski? You May Have to Head Indoors

Finnish sports and tourism industries are adapting to changing climate

ice marathonThis winter Finland has been set in a deep freeze. The country has been showered with more record-setting snow than in decades. But scientists say, don’t be fooled: climate change is a reality in Finland—and warmer winters are eroding iconic winter pastimes, cultural heritage and health.

 

This winter Finland has been set in a deep freeze. The country has been showered with more record-setting snow than in decades. But scientists say, don’t be fooled: climate change is a reality in Finland—and warmer winters are eroding iconic winter pastimes, cultural heritage and health.

Ari Laaksonen, a climate scientist at the Finnish Meteorological Institute, says the winters between 2006 and 2008 saw average temperatures five to six degrees centigrade above average. At least one degree of this increase can be attributed to the planet heating up.

“It’s especially winters that are getting warmer. Summers will be getting warmer as well, but not by as much. The other thing is that the climate will be wetter than it is,” says Laaksonen, who heads the Climate Change Unit at the Finnish Meteorological Institute.

ski jumping schoolMild, wet winters will particularly affect southern Finland. Already now the Finnish Tourist Board advises tourism entrepreneurs to avoid investing heavily in ski resorts in the south, where there is no longer promise of a ‘snow guarantee.’

However Finland isn’t turning into southern Europe just yet. Pundits point out that snow will be plentiful in northern and eastern parts of the country in the future. These areas are home to annual frozen attractions, such as the ambitious SnowCastle project in the northern city of Kemi as well as the Ice Marathon on Lake Kallavesi, which requires 40-centimetre thick ice to hold skaters.

The tourism industry, which employs around 60,000 people annually, knows that Finland’s snow-capped far north is a unique selling point.

Why is Finland more snow-capped than the Alps?

“It’s a kind of competitive advantage for us. The Alps are losing snow, and the lower parts of the Alps may not have a lot of snow in the future, which means there will maybe be more people coming over to Finland to enjoy the white snow,” explains Jaakko Lehtonen, Director General of the Finnish Tourist Board.

Snow sports for Masses on Thin Ice

ice rowing eventBut a snowy Lapland will do little for the majority of Finland’s population of 5.3 million that live in the southern part of the country, where damp, snowless winters are in store.

Winter sports are what keep many Finns active during the dark winter months, but rising temperatures may force future generations of skiers and skaters indoors.

The Ylläs indoor winter arena on the outskirts of Helsinki in southern Finland opened in 2009 for year-round cross-country skiing. The centre is the first of its kind in Finland. Some believe Finland’s winter sports enthusiasts will increasingly have to settle for an artificial winter wonderland as southern areas swelter under global warming.

“In the future, Helsinki will be an area with only a few weeks of snow,” points out Terho Kääriäinen, the ski hall’s owner.

The head of the Finnish Sports Federation, Jukka Pekkala, says snow plays an important role in motivating people to exercise.

“Snow is one of the cheapest and most important sports facilities in Finland in wintertime,” he says.

cross-country skiingA survey by the Finnish Sports Federation suggests that people are around 20 percent less active during wet and rainy winters.

It’s obvious that we are not as physically active as we used to be as a nation,” says Pekkala.

Pekkala meanwhile isn’t concerned about Finland’s future as a winter sports host—much of the snow at professional skiing events is blasted onto slopes by cannons. This is also the practice at popular ski resorts, which are the main tourism draws in northern Finland.

The tourism business knows that the country’s image of a cold, dark and remote place is hard to shake—even if the mercury is creeping up. That said, Finland will continue to compete for winter visitors with its main rival, Canada.

 A Look at the Finnish Tourism Industry
  • Tourism’s share of GDP is 2.3%
  • Tourism creates some 60,000 full-time jobs
  • 2.3 million foreign winter overnight stays (Oct ‘08-April ‘09)
  • Winter overnight stays account for 46.3 % of all annual foreign overnight stays

Source: The Finnish Tourist Board, 2010

Warming Winters
Mean winter temperatures (˚C) in Finland (December- February)

1961-1990 1971-2000
Helsinki (southern Finland) -4.8 -3.8
Sodankylä (northern Finland) -13.9 -13.1

Source: The Finnish Meteorological Institute, 2010

Yle News

For more news from Finland visit Yle News.

Do you want to report an error or a typo? Click here!

Leave a Reply

Note: By submitting your comments, you acknowledge that Radio Canada International has the right to reproduce, broadcast and publicize those comments or any part thereof in any manner whatsoever. Radio Canada International does not endorse any of the views posted. Your comments will be pre-moderated and published if they meet netiquette guidelines.
Netiquette »

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *