Mount Fuji snowless for longest period after sweltering summer in Japan | Japan

Japan’s Mount Fuji remained snowless on Tuesday, marking the latest date its slopes have been bare since records began 130 years ago, the country’s weather bureau said.

The volcano’s snowcap begins to form on average on October 2, and snow was first discovered there on October 5 last year.

But due to the warm weather, no snowfall had been recorded on Japan’s highest mountain this year, said Yutaka Katsuta, a forecaster at the Kofu Local Meteorological Office.

That was the latest date since comparative data became available in 1894, he said, beating the previous record of October 26 – which had been recorded twice, in 1955 and 2016.

“Temperatures were high this summer and these high temperatures continued into September, deterring cold air” that brings snow, Katsuta told the AFP news agency.

He said climate change could have some impact on the delay in snow cap formation.

Japan’s summer this year was the hottest on record – equaling 2023 levels – as extreme heat waves fueled by climate change engulfed many parts of the world.

Mount Fuji is covered in snow most of the year, but during the July-September hiking season, more than 220,000 visitors trudge up its steep, rocky slopes. Many climb through the night to see the sunrise from the 3,776-foot summit.

However, fewer climbers climbed Mount Fuji this year after Japanese authorities introduced an entrance fee and a daily maximum number to combat overtourism.

The symmetrical mountain has been immortalized in countless works of art, including Hokusai’s “Great Wave”.

The last eruption was about 300 years ago.