[2026 Milan-Cortina] Snow Vanishes from the Alps… Cortina’s Addiction to “White Powder” and the Winter Olympics’ Dwindling Days

A single white line stretches across the exposed, brown-dried rock faces of the Dolomites, as if drawn with correction fluid…

What the world will witness in February 2026 is not a majestic silver world, but a distorted winter festival unfolding upon an artificial snow “White Ribbon.”

The Olympics, once touted as the “Green Olympics,” have now become an environmental destruction machine, consuming vast amounts of water and electricity just to host the games.

As snow vanishes from the Alps, how much longer can we avoid facing this contradiction?

90% is a “fake winter.”

The notion that “the Dolomites have snow” has become a myth of the past.

The latest research predicts that the use of artificial snow at the 2026 Milan-Cortina Olympics will reach 90% to 100%.

Artificial snow was once a “supplement” to natural snow, but now it is the main player.

Approximately 2.4 million cubic meters of snow will be needed for the Games, consuming about 950,000 tons of water to produce it. This is equivalent to filling 380 Olympic-sized swimming pools.

The 2022 Beijing Games also relied almost entirely on artificial snow, but Beijing is inherently a dry region. This time, however, it starkly exposes how even the Alps, supposed symbols of winter, can no longer create winter conditions without mechanical intervention.

Ski Resorts vs. Farmers: The Outbreak of a “Water War”

This massive water consumption is not merely a cost issue; it could trigger a life-or-death water war.

The host region, the Po River basin in northern Italy, has suffered historic droughts in recent years. As agricultural water dries up and crops wither, local residents and environmental groups are furious that ski resorts are building reservoirs to monopolize water.

Why are they spraying water for a two-week event
while local farmers struggle with water shortages?

No one has answered this question yet. The more snow machines spew snow, the deeper the rift in the community grows.

The Terror of Global Warming Eroding the IOC

Science Issues Warning to Olympics

So, how much longer can the Winter Olympics continue?

The University of Waterloo in Canada has made this prediction. It is science’s cold, hard “death sentence.”

“Under a high greenhouse gas emissions scenario, by 2080, only Sapporo among the 21 cities that have hosted the Winter Olympics in the past will be able to safely hold the games.”

The snowline in the Alps (the boundary where snow accumulates) is rising year by year, and lower-altitude resorts have already been devastated. By 2050, half of the current candidate host cities are projected to become climatically unsuitable.

The IOC understands this reality. That’s precisely why it resorted to desperate measures to prolong its existence.

Why were 2030 and 2034 decided simultaneously?

[2030・2034]The Full Story Behind the Simultaneous Selection of Two Winter Olympics Host Cities: Alps and Salt Lake City

Behind the scenes of the simultaneous decision for the 2030 French Alps Olympics and the 2034 Salt Lake City Utah Olympics. What move did the IOC make to avert the crisis threatening the Winter Olympics' survival? What did President Macron pledge to President Bach at the General Assembly? An unprecedented agreement born from the clash between the U.S. government and the sports world. A comprehensive look at the IOC's desperate strategy to save the Winter Olympics.

host-cities.windcastor.com

2026.01.18

Here, the significance of the “simultaneous decision for the 2030 French Alps and 2034 Salt Lake City” becomes clear.

The IOC’s unusual rush to decide on two Games simultaneously was not driven by efficiency.

• “We must secure venues that can definitely host the Games in ten years.”
• “In the meantime, we must decide survival strategies for future Winter Olympics.”

It was driven by a sense of crisis bordering on fear.

Climate change is accelerating too rapidly; no one knows where snow will vanish in ten years. That’s precisely why they had no choice but to reserve Salt Lake City, a high-altitude location with proven hosting capability at this very moment.

“White powder” accelerates global warming

Artificial snow is like a “white drug” for the ski industry.

• Once you start using it, the higher the temperature rises, the more snow you need.
• Energy consumption increases, and the environmental burden grows heavier.
• This accelerates global warming.

Because we become trapped in this vicious cycle.

The white ribbons we’ll see on our screens in 2026、For athletes, it’s a moment in the spotlight, but for winter sports as a whole, it may be a cry of distress.