Italy's ski industry fires cannon against climate change

Skiers pass on an artificial snow slope as end of the ski season nears, in Monte Cimone, Italy, March 31, 2023. REUTERS/Claudia Greco

MONTE CIMONE, Italy (Reuters) - Monte Cimone, a popular ski resort in Italy's Apennine Mountains, invested 5 million euros in artificial snowmaking before the winter season in an attempt to stave off the impact of global warming. The money was largely wasted.

The snow cannon proved useless because the water droplets they fire into the air need freezing weather for them to fall to the ground as snow, and until mid-January the temperature never fell below zero Celsius (32 Fahrenheit).