Snow cover in Europe under the CLMS spotlight – a history of winter changes

The Copernicus Land Monitoring Service (CLMS) has developed an innovative system of visual storytelling about changes in the natural environment. One of the first two narratives presents modifications in snow cover in Europe over decades and their impact on ecosystem health and the lives of local communities.

CLMS Snapshots – a story that draws you in

The new CLMS Snapshot product is a response to the growing public interest in environmental changes taking place around us. Instead of producing yet another set of reports read mainly by experts, scientists involved in the Copernicus Land Monitoring programme decided to use real stories as well as engaging images and maps. CLMS Snapshots are aimed at journalists, teachers, and anyone who wants to understand how Europe is changing.

Each Snapshot is a visually attractive story about the links between land cover, ecology, climate change adaptation and the resilience of European infrastructure. The narratives focus on our continent, but they also include references to the global context, such as the impact of Saharan dust storms on the rate of snowmelt in the Pyrenees.

Snow cover is more than skiing conditions

As part of the first two Snapshot series, CLMS prepared an analysis of the dynamics of snow cover changes in Europe. This choice is not accidental – snow is a key element of the hydrological cycle and serves not only as a valuable water reservoir but also as a catalyst for processes taking place in ecosystems. Changes in snow cover are among the most visible symptoms of climate warming.

From the snow-focused CLMS Snapshots, we learn about plans for the permanent closure of the French ski resort Alpe du Grand Serre, which has simply run out of snow. The consequences of bankruptcy affect not only winter sports enthusiasts but also residents of nearby towns, who are now facing an economic and identity crisis.

On the other hand, in Scandinavia the winter of 2023/24 brought a positive snow anomaly, paralysing life in cities. According to CLMS experts, this is another piece of evidence that we should talk about climate change, not just warming. The path toward a gradual reduction of snow cover in Europe will, in their view, be uneven and chaotic.

A stable past, an uncertain future

The growing unpredictability of snow conditions in Europe has direct economic implications. CLMS Snapshots highlight operational problems faced by hydropower plants in the Swiss region of Valais, whose annual energy production amounts to around 10.5 thousand GWh. Managing reservoirs is becoming more difficult with each passing year.

Snow cover also regulates the functioning of alpine ecosystems. The Snapshots present the process of snowmelt in two mountain locations, Cimalegna and the Mazia Valley, and its impact on plant growth conditions and animal life cycles. Monitoring five local plant species helps explain how flora is trying to cope with increasingly shorter winter seasons. Serious consequences are also being felt by the European population of the greater mouse-eared bat. As bat hibernation areas have already shifted by 260 km, many individuals are beginning to abandon migration.

Earlier snowmelt, which in the Pyrenees is sometimes a consequence of the already mentioned transport of dust from the Sahara, has serious effects on hydrological conditions in rivers. In Spanish catchments, a shift in the timing of peak flows is being observed, which in turn affects agriculture, energy production and ecosystems in the lower reaches of rivers. Snow cover is the first domino that will increasingly influence European landscapes.

The full visualisation can be viewed at: https://land.copernicus.eu/en/clms-snapshots