Warm December is bad news for Belgian ski resorts

Ski resorts across Belgium are faced with the possibility that they may not open this year due to a lack of snow, writes De Standaard. December 2015 is on track to be the warmest month of December since 1934, according to meteorologist David Dehenauw, who says it is unlikely that temperatures will drop before year-end.

Prevailing southerly and southwesterly winds coming from over the Atlantic are at the root of the unusually warm weather, pushing subtropical air over Europe, said the meteorologist, who added that it is difficult to predict whether this trend will continue in 2016.

The ski resorts in the eastern provinces do not expect to open this year, including Signal de Botrange, Belgium's highest point at 694 meters. Resort owners in the province of Luxembourg, where the Baraque Fraiture (652 meters) is the highest point, face the same fate.

Cross-country ski runs need 10 to 15 cm of snow, and downhill slopes need at least 20 cm to operate. "Last year we were able to open the slopes for 39 days,” says a spokesperson from the Tourist Office of the East Cantons. “That was a record season, even though we didn't open until 27 December."

"We've had late winters in the past that made for a poor start to the season, but it varies from year to year. This year there is no snow at all, so we don't expect to bring in much business over the holidays."

Belgium's East Cantons have 19 ski resorts with Nordic and Alpine ski slopes and tracks for snowmobiles and tobogganing.