Winter Temperatures in the Alps: 50 Years

Agenda:
00:25 – 12 Mountain Weather Stations
01:18 – Our findings
02:36 – 10-year moving average
03:15 – Linear trend (linear regression)
03:37 – No provable shift in winter temperatures in summit locations in the Alps
03:48 – Interpretation: The winter sports industry needs to inform the public better
04:08 – Credits

Produced in April 2021 by Martin Hautz and Matthias Kreuz („MH Videoproduktion“ company, Fieberbrunn, Tirol, Austria).

Call for donations
Dear friends of winter sports, research is expensive. And financing that research is always a challenge. FORUM ZUKUNFT SKISPORT offers independent research. We can afford to be clear about things. Perhaps you would like to support us.
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We are NOT questioning climate change
This data analysis is not suitable for questioning current global climate change. Climate change can of course also be analyzed when studying the Alps. The annual mean temperatures have risen by nearly 2 degrees Celsius over the past 50 years. This rise in temperature has mainly been driven by the strong warming in spring and summer, while the autumn and winter months have recorded only slight increases.

Limitations:
1) ATTENTION: These measurements represent the past. The statistical evaluations presented here cannot be used to make any forecasts for the future of winter temperatures in the peaks of the Alps.
2) Covering a wide area, this analysis lacks mountain weather stations from France, Italy and Slovenia. This is not on purpose. We could not organize any homogenized temperature data from these Alpine regions.

Transparency:
The present data evaluation offers maximum transparency. All measurements used are publicly available for researchers, or for anyone interested. The analyzed data can be requested from the responsible institutions.

Professional Exchange:
HR Dr. Wolfgang Gattermayr, Meteorologist and hydrologist, long-time leader of Hydrographischer Dienst Tirol
Mareike Janzen, „Level Up‘“ English Language Program, Kitzbühel
Dr. Gerhard Katschnig, Freelance lecturer, Klagenfurt
DI (FH) Wolfgang Peter, Data Engineering & Statistics, Völs
Univ.-Prof. i. R. Dr. Heinz Slupetzky, University Salzburg, Glaciologist

Data Sources:
MeteoSwiss, Switzerland
DWD, Germany
ZAMG (HISTALP), Austria

Bio of Günther Aigner:
The Austrian Günther Aigner (born 1977 in Kitzbühel) is one of the leading futurologists in the field of alpine ski tourism in German-speaking countries. Since 2014, he has been working as a ski tourism researcher and runs the FORUM ZUKUNFT SKISPORT company. Aigner is the author of numerous snow and temperature studies of well-known destinations in the Alpine region - including Kitzbühel, Lech-Zürs and Zell am See. As a consultant, he advises alpine destinations and works out market positioning (e.g. Obertauern). In 2019, the Tyrolean was a contributing author in the Austrian Special Report “Tourism and Climate Change” (ASR19) of the Austrian Panel on Climate Change (APCC). Aigner is a member of the Study Committee No. VII ("Environment") of the World Cable Car Association (O. I. T. A. F.).