World
Still no snow on Mount Fuji, forecasters say – setting a new record
Mount Fuji is yet to see any snow on its slopes this year, with forecasters saying the absence of the white stuff has set a new record.
The active volcano southwest of Tokyo is the country’s highest peak at 3,776m. It usually sees its first snow of the year in early October.
But as of today, there was still no snow on Japan’s highest mountain, Yutaka Katsuta, a forecaster at Kofu Local Meteorological Office, was quoted as saying by AFP.
Since records began 130 years ago, this is the latest date in a calendar year the iconic mountain has gone without snow.
The previous record was 26 October in both 1955 and 2016.
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Last year, the first snow on Japan’s highest peak was seen on 5 October.
This year, Japan experienced its hottest summer since records began in 1898, Kyodo News+ reported the Japan Meteorological Agency as saying back in September.
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Around 200,000 to 300,000 people climb Mount Fuji every summer.
News of the record-breaking lack of snow comes a day after the United Nations warned global climate action plans are “falling miles short” of what is needed to stop climate change from “crippling” economies.
Mr Katsuta told AFP global warming may have contributed to the delay in Mount Fuji’s snowfall.