JapanForum.com - Global Warming Threathens Mt Fuji

behold the Great Scourge of Global Warming! The earth has gotten so incredibly hot that the climbing season on Mt Fuji may be postponed. because the snow is NOT melting this year, reports Mainichi News.

Quote:

Large amount of snow on Mount Fuji could block climbers from reaching summit

A massive amount of snow remains on Mount Fuji, Japan's highest mountain, raising fears that it may block climbers from reaching its summit even after the climbing season gets under way on July 1.

If it is the case, it will be the first such situation in 10 years. The mountain hut owners association on 3,776-meter-high Mount Fuji is set to begin next Wednesday to remove snow from the trail up the mountain.

The problem came to light as members of the association launched efforts to improve their mountain huts.

"We must have a fresh start this year. We can't give up (opening the mountain on the designated date)," an association member said.

Snow covering Mount Fuji usually melts before June. However, snow up to 1 meter thick remains on the Yamanashi Prefecture side of the mountain while as much as 4 meters of snow is still on the Shizuoka Prefecture side.

This is because the average temperature near its summit was 2.6 degrees Celsius lower in April and 1.3 degrees lower in May than normal, and it snowed in late May, according to the Kofu Local Meteorological Observatory. (Mainichi)