Snowfall does not fall on Japan’s iconic Mount Fuji, breaking 130-year record

Mount Fuji is free of snow, marking the latest point of a year without snowfall since records began 130 years ago. Japan’s highest peak, which usually snows in early October, has yet to snow this season due to the unusually warm weather. The first snowfall in 2023 is on October 5, reports AFP.

The delay comes after Japan’s hottest summer on record, with June-August temperatures 1.76 degrees Celsius above average. The northern position of the subtropical jet stream allowed warm southern air to flow into Japan, leading to warmer-than-normal September temperatures, reports BBC.

Nearly 1,500 locations reported “extremely hot” days (temperatures reached 35 degrees Celsius last month. October cooled slightly, but temperatures remain above average, leaving the summit of Mount Fuji empty as November approached—setting a new record since data collection began in 1894.

The previous record, set on October 26, was reached twice before, in 1955 and 2016, according to Yutaka Katsuta of the Kofu local weather office. While a single event does not directly confirm climate change, the absence of snowfall on Mount Fuji is consistent with patterns expected in a warming climate.

Mount Fuji, southwest of Tokyo, is Japan’s highest peak at 12,460 feet. Visible from Tokyo on clear days, the iconic volcano last erupted 300 years ago and is famously depicted in traditional Japanese artwork. Last year, more than 220,000 people visited Mount Fuji between July and September. Climbed Mount Fuji.

Mount Fuji is covered in snow most of the year, but more than 220,000 visitors climb its steep, rocky slopes during the July-September hiking season.

Many climb at night to watch the sunrise from the 3,776-meter (12,388-foot) peak.

However, fewer climbers climbed Mount Fuji this year after Japanese authorities imposed entrance fees and limits on the number of climbs per day to combat over-tourism.

This symmetrical mountain has been immortalized in countless artworks, including Hokusai’s “Great Wave.”

It last erupted about 300 years ago.