Japan’s Mount Fuji is one of the most iconic natural formations on Earth. It’s a UNESCO world heritage site that draws millions of tourists a year. One of its defining features is the snowy peak that appears late into the year and offsets its brown/gray rocky face.
But it’s almost November and there’s still no snow up there. This is the longest it’s taken for Mount Fuji’s peak to don its snowy cap in 130 years.
Japan is just coming off its hottest summer on record. Average temperatures between June and August exceeded normal temps by 3.1° Fahrenheit. Those toasty conditions have bled into the fall, and it had some help from a northerly shift in the subtropical jet stream that allowed warmer air to linger around.
It was actually so hot in Japan this summer that around 1,500 locations across the country experienced “extremely hot” days, which are defined as temperatures at or exceeding 95° Fahrenheit.
October 2 is usually around the time Mount Fuji gets its first snowfall. We’re currently a lot closer to November 2 and there’s still no snow. Last year, in 2023, snow finally hit Fuji’s peak on October 5. But temperatures were still somewhat warmer than usual last year, so all that snow was pretty much melted by the time November came around.
No snow by October 29 means a new record has been set. The previous record for latest day Mount Fuji received its frosty top was October 26, which happened in both 1955 and 2016.
Climate Change is also playing a role in the delayed snow. For decades now, climate researchers have been telling us that one of the consequences of increased average global temperatures is delayed or just flat-out erratic weather patterns.
That may not sound alarming but it has wide-reaching consequences that affect everything from economies, tourism, food and water supplies, and even the prevalence of allergies now that we have an extended period of plants releasing even more sneeze-inducing pollen into the air.
The post It’s Nearly November and Mount Fuji Still Doesn’t Have Snow At Its Peak appeared first on VICE.
The post It’s Nearly November and Mount Fuji Still Doesn’t Have Snow At Its Peak appeared first on VICE.
