Articles | Volume 14, issue 9
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2909-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-14-2909-2020
© Author(s) 2020. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Research article
| 
04 Sep 2020
Research article |
| 04 Sep 2020
| 04 Sep 2020
Anthropogenic climate change versus internal climate variability: impacts on snow cover in the Swiss Alps
Fabian Willibald
CORRESPONDING AUTHOR
Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems, Institute for Spatial and
Landscape Planning, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Institute of Science, Technology and Policy, ETH Zurich, Zurich,
Switzerland
Sven Kotlarski
Federal Office of Meteorology and Climatology MeteoSwiss,
Zurich-Airport, Switzerland
Adrienne Grêt-Regamey
Planning of Landscape and Urban Systems, Institute for Spatial and
Landscape Planning, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
Institute of Science, Technology and Policy, ETH Zurich, Zurich,
Switzerland
Ralf Ludwig
Department of Geography, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich,
Munich, Germany
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Cited
16 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Projection of snowfall extremes in the French Alps as a function of elevation and global warming level E. Le Roux et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4691-2023
- Long-term trends and spatial patterns of snowfall across Türkiye: influence of topography and atmospheric teleconnections H. Serkendiz & H. Tatli https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-026-06202-1
- Large ensemble climate model simulations: introduction, overview, and future prospects for utilising multiple types of large ensemble N. Maher et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-401-2021
- Estimating robust melt factors and temperature thresholds for snow modelling across the Northern Hemisphere A. Fontrodona-Bach et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-2613-2026
- Natural climate variability is an important aspect of future projections of snow water resources and rain-on-snow events M. Schirmer et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3469-2022
- Estimating the danger of snow avalanches with a machine learning approach using a comprehensive snow cover model R. Fromm & C. Schönberger https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mlwa.2022.100405
- Climate and carbon risk of tourism in Europe R. Steiger et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2022.2163653
- Vulnerability of ski tourism towards internal climate variability and climate change in the Swiss Alps F. Willibald et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147054
- Climate Change, Environmental Health, and Challenges for Nursing Discipline O. Portela Dos Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20095682
- Technical note: Literature based approach to estimate future snow B. Richter & C. Marty https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-659-2026
- European snow cover in the EURO-CORDEX regional climate model ensemble: model evaluation C. Steger et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-026-08343-5
- Isotopic insights into the dynamics of soil water pools along an elevation gradient J. Kocum et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-3313-2026
- Recent Changes of Snow Cover and Winter Period Climatic Parameters in the South of the Central Russian Upland E. Terekhin https://doi.org/10.3390/cli14110228
- Snow sensitivity to temperature and precipitation change during compound cold–hot and wet–dry seasons in the Pyrenees J. Bonsoms et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1307-2023
- The role of thermal constraints in post-disturbance forest recovery across the European Alps – a large-scale remote sensing study L. Mandl et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111016
- Attributing snow cover extent changes over the Northern Hemisphere for the past 65 years H. Guo et al. https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ac03c8
16 citations as recorded by crossref.
- Projection of snowfall extremes in the French Alps as a function of elevation and global warming level E. Le Roux et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-4691-2023
- Long-term trends and spatial patterns of snowfall across Türkiye: influence of topography and atmospheric teleconnections H. Serkendiz & H. Tatli https://doi.org/10.1007/s00704-026-06202-1
- Large ensemble climate model simulations: introduction, overview, and future prospects for utilising multiple types of large ensemble N. Maher et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/esd-12-401-2021
- Estimating robust melt factors and temperature thresholds for snow modelling across the Northern Hemisphere A. Fontrodona-Bach et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-2613-2026
- Natural climate variability is an important aspect of future projections of snow water resources and rain-on-snow events M. Schirmer et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-16-3469-2022
- Estimating the danger of snow avalanches with a machine learning approach using a comprehensive snow cover model R. Fromm & C. Schönberger https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mlwa.2022.100405
- Climate and carbon risk of tourism in Europe R. Steiger et al. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669582.2022.2163653
- Vulnerability of ski tourism towards internal climate variability and climate change in the Swiss Alps F. Willibald et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.147054
- Climate Change, Environmental Health, and Challenges for Nursing Discipline O. Portela Dos Santos et al. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph20095682
- Technical note: Literature based approach to estimate future snow B. Richter & C. Marty https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-659-2026
- European snow cover in the EURO-CORDEX regional climate model ensemble: model evaluation C. Steger et al. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00382-026-08343-5
- Isotopic insights into the dynamics of soil water pools along an elevation gradient J. Kocum et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/hess-30-3313-2026
- Recent Changes of Snow Cover and Winter Period Climatic Parameters in the South of the Central Russian Upland E. Terekhin https://doi.org/10.3390/cli14110228
- Snow sensitivity to temperature and precipitation change during compound cold–hot and wet–dry seasons in the Pyrenees J. Bonsoms et al. https://doi.org/10.5194/tc-17-1307-2023
- The role of thermal constraints in post-disturbance forest recovery across the European Alps – a large-scale remote sensing study L. Mandl et al. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agrformet.2026.111016
- Attributing snow cover extent changes over the Northern Hemisphere for the past 65 years H. Guo et al. https://doi.org/10.1088/2515-7620/ac03c8
Saved (final revised paper)
Latest update: 27 Oct 2026
Short summary
Climate change will significantly reduce snow cover, but the extent remains disputed. We use regional climate model data as a driver for a snow model to investigate the impacts of climate change and climate variability on snow. We show that natural climate variability is a dominant source of uncertainty in future snow trends. We show that anthropogenic climate change will change the interannual variability of snow. Those factors will increase the vulnerabilities of snow-dependent economies.
Climate change will significantly reduce snow cover, but the extent remains disputed. We use...
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