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Ski championships called off as snow fails to fall

The Local Germany
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Ski championships called off as snow fails to fall
Snow has failed to fall in Garmisch this ski season. Photo: DPA

Germany's favourite ski resort is suffering from a serious lack of snow. After having to cancel an upcoming women's competition, experts are warning this could be the beginning of the end of its winter sport business.

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Garmisch-Partenkirchen, in the Bavarian Alps, tends to be blanketed in snow by January. But this year, there is just a sprinkling and the weather is too warm for the resort's top-of-the-range snow canon, meaning skiing is off the cards.

With temperatures only just dipping below freezing at night, Garmisch race organizer Peter Fischer has been forced to extreme measures.

A women's race - part of the Alpine Ski World Championships - scheduled for the last weekend in January will no longer take place, the Süddeutsche Zeitung reported on Tuesday. “I've never had to cancel a race this early,” said Fischer.

Economic geography professor Jürgen Schmude told the newspaper that shifts in the weather would affect Germany's ski industry, pushing thrill seekers to more eastern ski resorts.

“By 2050 we will only have the Zugspitze [Germany's highest mountain] for skiing," said Schumde.

While Schumde may have accepted Germany's climatic fate, Fischer is hoping for a whiter February, meaning no more cancelled races. Whether this will materialize remains unclear.

CLICK HERE for a more detailed weather forecast

In the coming week there will be, according to state weather service the DWD, between five and 10 centimetres of snow in the highest areas of the Allgäu Alpine region.

For most of the country, rain will be the theme of this month. Falling instead of snow, it will make for icy conditions overnight in rural areas, but it will not get much colder than just below zero.

READ MORE: Mild January continues with highs of 15C

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