The abnormally warm winter nearly caused the disruption of the traditional Sapporo Snow Festival in northern Japan. For the past 70 years, tens of thousands of tourists from all over the world have flocked here every year in early February to admire about 200 large and complex “snowmen”.
According to the Japan Meteorological Agency, less than half of the annual average snow fell in Sapporo this winter, which melted due to high temperatures back in mid-December.
According to the organizers of the festival, the unprecedented lack of building material - and it requires about 30 thousand tons - has become a big problem. Snow had to be transported from remote areas, which turned out to collect it. The difficulty lies in the fact that it must be clean and untouched, otherwise the sculptures will fall apart.
Japan’s record-breaking snowfall this year has also forced many ski resorts to close their slopes. According to Weathernews, a quarter of the 400 resorts said they were unable to work for this reason.
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