Study on technical snowmaking in Austria by researchers from the University of Innsbruck and Munich University of Applied Sciences published

A new study (01, see bibliography) by researchers from the University of Innsbruck and Munich University of Applied Sciences brings hard data and facts to a discussion dominated for decades by assumptions and emotions, addressing the following questions: How much water and electricity does artificial snowmaking require? And how much CO2 does it emit?

The question of emissions is therefore sensitive because artificial snowmaking is the central adaptation strategy for ski tourism to climate change. This raises the accusation that emissions from snowmaking would actually exacerbate climate change. Figure 1 illustrates the warming of winters on the Hoher Sonnblick over the last 140 years (02). The trend line shows a warming of 1.7 degrees Celsius per 100 years (see the formula for linear regression in the chart) – that's about 2.4 degrees in 140 years. The associated rise in the snow line (06) and the shortening of winters are compensated for by ski resorts through artificial snowmaking.

Although artificial snowmaking is the subject of controversial debate in both academia and the media, there has never been a single study worldwide based on surveys of ski resorts regarding their resource consumption and CO2 emissions. So we (Robert Steiger, Marius Mayer, and Günther Aigner) decided to change that. We developed a questionnaire, contacted all Austrian ski resorts, and obtained sufficiently high-quality data from 30 resorts. This sample represents 17.8 million skier visits (or first-time visits), which is approximately 34% of the Austrian ski tourism volume.

Results from the projection for all Austrian ski resorts

• The water consumption per season is approximately 51 million m³. That's about 1,000 liters per skier per day and 2,900 m³ per hectare of ski slope.

• The electricity demand per season is approximately 280 GWh. That equates to roughly 5.5 kWh per skier's day and 16,000 kWh per hectare of ski slope.

• There are approximately 44,000 snowmaking machines in use throughout Austria.

• CO₂ emissions largely depend on the energy mix. Assuming a hydropower-based electricity mix of 24 tons of CO₂ per 1 GWh, the emissions from snowmaking amount to 130 grams of CO₂ per skier's day.

Results from the sample

82% of the ski slope kilometers in the ski resorts in the sample are artificially snow-covered.

The ratio of propeller-driven machines (classic snow cannons) to lances in the sample is 48:52. Under this assumption, there would be 21,100 propeller-driven machines and 22,900 lances in service in Austria.

The average operating time per snow gun per season in the ski resorts in the sample was 171 hours – that's about one week per year.

99.9% of the snow produced is generated by ski resorts that have a contract with their electricity supplier for the exclusive purchase of electricity from renewable sources (green electricity contract).

Factors influencing the intensity of snowmaking

What determines how much artificial snow is produced? Of all the factors influencing snowmaking resource consumption, the size of the ski resort appears to be the dominant one. The larger a ski resort, the higher the water and energy consumption per hectare of slope. This is presumably because larger ski resorts are in a better financial position and can afford more extensive snowmaking. Surprisingly, the altitude of the ski resorts does not play a decisive role: On average, the amount of artificial snow produced per hectare of slope is similar in higher-altitude resorts as in lower-altitude resorts.

The CO2 emissions from snowmaking, at 130 grams per skier day, are equivalent to a car journey of approximately 0.9 km in a petrol or diesel car (03). This shows that the CO2 emissions from snowmaking are very low compared to the travel activities of guests to (and back from) the ski resorts.

The electricity demand for snowmaking in Austria has so far been estimated in scientific discussions to be between 355 and 950 GWh (04). The 280 GWh we calculated is significantly lower. Assuming that an average electric car consumes about 22 kWh per 100 km (05), the electricity required for snow production during a single skier's visit is sufficient for a 25 km drive.

The water consumption for snowmaking appears to be higher than previously assumed. However, it's important to remember that the water for snowmaking is sourced locally and is neither consumed nor polluted during the entire process – in Austria, additives to snowmaking water are prohibited by law. The water consumption for snowmaking thus resembles a closed-loop system.

Benefits of the study for society and/or recommendations for action

The results of our study are intended to serve as an industry benchmark for ski resorts and as a guideline for future resource savings. We aim to provide a foundation of solid data for public and academic discourse, and reliable facts for authorities and legislators.

With our paper, we aimed to recalibrate and objectify a controversial debate on climate change adaptation. We attempted to remove assumptions, models, and rough estimates from the discussion and strengthen it with a large-scale dataset based on a survey of ski resorts.

Artificial snowmaking has long since become indispensable. We must assume that there will be no thriving ski tourism without it in the coming years and decades. Against this backdrop, we suggest that our findings be viewed as a contribution to the most ecological and sustainable ski tourism possible.

Sources

(01) Aigner, G., Mayer, M., & Steiger, R. (2026) Snowmaking in Austria: Resource consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. Journal of Sustainable Tourism. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2026.2656746

(02) GeoSphere Austria (2026) Monthly data homogenized series CSV Export. Link: https://www.zamg.ac.at/histalp/dataset/station/csv.php

(03) Federal Ministry for Innovation, Mobility and Infrastructure (BMK) (2025) Monitoring report on CO2 emissions of newly registered passenger cars in Austria in 2023. Vienna. The fleet of newly registered gasoline and diesel passenger cars achieved average CO2 emissions of 140.6 g/km. https://www.bmimi.gv.at/themen/mobilitaet/co2_monitoring/pkw.html

(04) Pröbstl-Haider, U., Lund-Durlacher, D., Olefs, M., Prettenthaler, F. (eds.) (2020) Tourism and Climate Change. Austrian Special Report Tourism and Climate Change (SR 19), Springer Verlag Berlin, Heidelberg, p. 115. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-662-61522-5

(05) Stadtwerke Konstanz (2025) How much electricity does an electric car consume? https://www.stadtwerke-konstanz.de/parken-laden/aktuelles/wie-viel-strom-verbraucht-ein-e-auto/

(06) Schelling, S., Koehler, J., Baumhoer, C., Krause, C., Aigner, G., Vydra, C., Kuenzer, C., & Dietz, A. (2026) Ski Areas and Snow Reliability Decline in the European Alps Under Increasing Global Warming—A Remote Sensing Perspective. Remote sensing. 18(3):491. DOI: 10.3390/rs18030491

The original study can be found here: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/09669582.2026.2656746