A view of a snow-covered Mount Fuji from Fujiyoshida in Japan.
David Edelstein under Unsplash License
In 1831, the Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai immortalized a snow-covered Mount Fuji in the background of his famous woodblock print, The Great Wave off Kanagawa. Although the image of the volcano might linger in collective memory as snow-capped, the iconic peak remained barren as of Tuesday. It is the longest time the mountain has been snowless since scientists’ records began 130 years ago.
The snowcap on Mount Fuji begins to form on average around October 2, but this year, warmer temperatures have kept the volcano without snow, even with November just around the corner. Last year, the snowcap began forming on October 5. The previous record for the latest snowfall had been October 26, a record set in 1955 and tied in 2016.
“Temperatures were high this summer, and these high temperatures continued into September, deterring cold air,” says Yutaka Katsuta, a forecaster at Japan’s Kofu Local Meteorological Office, to the Agence France-Presse.
Hokusai’s “Great Wave” displays a snow-covered Mount Fuji in the background as part of the series “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.”
The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, Public Domain
The Kofu Local Meteorological Office has kept a record of the first snowfall on Mount Fuji each year since it was established in 1894. The volcano—a 12,388-foot-high peak—is considered one of the three sacred mountains in Japan and an important pilgrimage site.
Now, after an unusually hot summer in the country, the lingering warm temperatures have affected the snowfall, says Shinichi Yanagi, a meteorological officer at the Kofu office, to CNN’s Helen Regan and Genta Takeda.
Japan went through its hottest summer ever for the second year straight in 2024, according to the Japan Times, and these warmer-than-usual temperatures have lingered into the fall as well. Around 74 Japanese cities recorded temperatures higher than 84 degrees Fahrenheit in early October, with temperatures between 9 and 14 degrees Fahrenheit above normal for this time of year, according to a report from Climate Central.
Mount Fuji’s lack of snow is one of the many indicators around the world showing the effects of warmer winters on snow and water. A study published in January suggested human-caused warming has been behind a lack of snow in the Northern Hemisphere during the last four decades.
If global greenhouse gas emissions aren’t reduced, “a large portion of the world will have snow-free winters by 2100,” Andrew Schwartz, an atmospheric scientist at the University of California Berkeley’s Central Sierra Snow Laboratory, told National Geographic’s Melissa Hobson in February.
Back in Japan, Mount Fuji is usually covered in snow for most of the year, until the summer, when the snowless mountain attracts more than 220,000 hikers wishing to trek its iconic slopes. Beyond the lack of snowfall, an influx of foreign tourists intending to climb the mountain has raised concerns among Japanese officials.
“After Covid restrictions were lifted, we started seeing more people,” Toshiaki Kasai, a local government official, told the Guardian’s Justin McCurry in March.
In an effort to ease congestion during hiking season, Japan introduced a charge this year of 2,000 Japanese yen, or about $13, for hikers wishing to trek the volcano’s most popular route. The visitor cap was also set at 4,000 people per day.
Although the Kofu weather office raised the alarm about the lack of snow on Mount Fuji this year, the pressure from tourism on the volcano remains another problem for officials. Hikers have reportedly tackled the trails with improper gear, leading to injuries, and littered on the mountain.
“Overtourism—and all the subsequent consequences like rubbish, rising CO2 emissions and reckless hikers—is the biggest problem facing Mount Fuji,” Masatake Izumi, a government official in Yamanashi Prefecture, said to CNN last year. “Fuji-san is screaming out in pain.”
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