Artificial snow supports 2026 Winter Olympics amid climate challenges

The 2026 Milano Cortina Winter Olympics, set to take place in Italy, will rely extensively on artificial snow, with the total volume expected to reach twice that of Rome's Colosseum.

According to reports, although the competition venues are located near the Alps, natural snowfall in the region has become increasingly unstable and cannot meet the requirements for international winter sports events. As a result, organizers have decided to use large quantities of artificial snow to prepare the competition courses.

Ice and snow sports are widely enjoyed leisure activities with significant economic value. However, global warming is inflicting substantial financial losses on industries and regions that depend on snow and ice.

A 2025 report by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) warns that climate change-driven glacier melt is accelerating the depletion of freshwater reserves. This trend could put key sectors such as agriculture, energy, particularly hydropower, and tourism at risk of up to $4 trillion in GDP losses. At the same time, infrastructure and real estate assets worth billions of dollars are becoming increasingly exposed to climate hazards, including floods, landslides and rising sea levels.

Climate change has also made hosting winter sports events more challenging. For instance, the 2024 Alpine Skiing World Cup in Mont-Tremblant, Canada, was canceled due to unusually warm temperatures and insufficient snowfall. UNEP estimates that shrinking snow cover could result in losses of up to $30 billion for the global winter tourism industry by 2050.

Artificial snow has therefore become a key solution for sustaining winter sports. Davide Cerato, an Italian artificial snow expert in charge of snow preparation for the upcoming Winter Olympics, said that international winter sports competitions, including the Olympics, have long relied on artificial snow to ensure consistent conditions. Snow produced with specialized equipment has a stable and uniform density, melts less easily even after repeated use, and helps maintain an even surface, factors that are crucial for fairness and safety in competition. 

"We can ensure that the first and the 50th athlete compete on the same course," Cerato emphasized.

To provide sufficient artificial snow, local authorities have built two large reservoirs near the high-altitude venues, one with a capacity of about 200 million liters of water and another holding 88 million liters. Water from these reservoirs will be converted into snow using 125 snow cannons.

Data cited by Italian newspaper Corriere del Trentino show that the Games are expected to require approximately 2.4 million cubic meters of artificial snow, equivalent to twice the volume of the Colosseum. Producing this amount of snow is estimated to consume around 948,000 cubic meters of water. Automated monitoring systems will activate snow cannons whenever gaps appear on the snow surface.