Heatwaves, melting ice, bleached coral reefs, rising sea levels, wildfires and droughts... the world has been witnessing some of the worst consequences of climate change and things are only going downhill.?
Apart from the above-mentioned havoc wreaked by climate change, there's another more worrying modern-day issue: the?use of 'fake' snow to continue to make humans live in utter denial.???
AFP
That's what this French resort had to do in order to remain open during the holiday season, despite a complete lack of snow owing to rising temperatures.?
Officials at Luchon-Superbagn¨¨res in the Pyrenees authorised the emergency operation of cover mountains with snow in an overnight drill.?
According to reports, the French ski resort has angered ecologists by using a helicopter to move snow from higher up in the mountains to its lower slopes.?
The authorities at the ski resort, Luchon-Superbagn¨¨res in the Pyrenees, told an international media outlet that the helicopter spent two hours transporting 50 tonnes of snow to drop on the lower slopes used by beginners and ski schools. And while the snow in itself wasn't fake, what was artificial was the effect the resort tried to create by transporting snow.
The cost of transporting the snow was reportedly between Rs 3 to 4 lakhs. Herv¨¦ Pouanu, the director of the local council in France's southwest said that the resort is expected to recoup at least ten times the cost of the operation from the business that would have been lost from the lack of snow.
"We're not going to cover the whole resort in snow,¡± Herv¨¦ Pounau told French media, adding that if the snow was not transported a "large part" of the resort would have to be shuttered. ?
Pouanu reportedly acknowledged that the operation was not eco-friendly and he also explained that it was the only remaining option.?
"Our beginner slopes and ski schools are at their busiest during the holidays," Pounau told French media outlets.?
The snow airlifting has drawn criticism from environmental activists who said that using the helicopter created carbon emissions that contribute to climate change. Bastien Ho, the secretary of Europe Ecologie Les Verts party, said that the operation was evidence of an "upside-down world".??
According to Guardian reports, the February-March half-term holidays in France¨C-known as the ¡°winter-sport holidays¡±-¨Chave shot up over six weeks across different regions.?It's the busiest time of the year for the country¡¯s mountain resorts and Luchon-Superbagn¨¨res depends on this period for 60 per cent of its income.?
While snow, in the above case, was moved around to keep a business running, in Moscow, something similar. Only, Moscow used fake snow to keep up the holiday spirits!?
Last year, Moscow authorities dumped artificial snow in the city centre for New Year festivities as it was the?Russian capital's warmest December since 1886.
Videos of the delivery of fake snow on roads went viral and people couldn't help but note the irony of bringing snow to a city that otherwise spent millions each year on its removal.??