As Lapland basks in mild winter temperatures, the lack of snow leaves travel plans in tatters.
For some unlucky travellers, Christmas has been abruptly cancelled.
Huge German holiday firm TUI has begun scrapping some of its wildly popular Lapland trips as an essential element is missing: snow.
Towns like Rovaniemi, the ‘official home of Santa’, have experienced unseasonably mild conditions over the past few weeks. Rather than the typical 20-30cm of snow on the ground, November saw no more than a couple of centimetres in isolated patches, with most of the region devoid of the white stuff entirely.
On 3 and 4 December 2024, TUI cancelled several trips to Kuusamo in Finnish Lapland due to a lack of snow. Heavy rainfall in the area washed away what little snow remained, making it impossible to undertake many of the wintry excursions planned for visitors.
Why are Lapland trips cancelled?
In a statement released on Tuesday 4 December, the travel company said,
“We’ve been closely monitoring the weather forecast in Kuusamo. Unfortunately, there has been heavy rainfall today and what snow there was, has washed away.
“This means that, regretfully, it won’t be possible to operate the magical Lapland experience we had planned for you, including tasters and pre-booked excursions. We understand how devastating this news will be, and we are really sorry to have reached this outcome.”
Affected guests have been offered the option to change their travel dates, including to next winter, at no additional cost, to rebook onto another holiday with a 10 per cent discount, or to get a full refund for their trip.
Other travel agents are monitoring the weather closely, and some areas are using snow cannons to ensure their visitors have the magical winter experience they planned.
Lapland: A popular winter destination
A few decades ago, travelling to Lapland to visit Santa was something kids could only dream about. But today, thanks to hundreds of new air connections to European countries, a magical visit to the real home of St. Nick is just a ticket away.
Finnavia, the operator of Finnish airports, noted that last year over 1.5 million visitors arrived in Finnish Lapland, 20 per cent more than the previous year. In November and December alone, Rovaniemi, Kittilä, Ivalo, Kuusamo, and Kemi-Tornio airports saw 547,773 passengers pass through.
As well as Finland, Swedish Lapland has seen record visitor numbers in recent years. In the county of Norrbotten, home to Lapland, winter tourism increased by 9 per cent in 2023, with the town of Kiruna – home to the famous ICEHOTEL – seeing 50,000 more guest nights compared with the previous year.
Many visitors arrive anticipating days of chilly fun – dog sleds, snowmobiling, reindeer safaris. With little to no snow in some areas, activities like this become impossible. Even the reindeer are struggling to retrieve their favourite food, lichen, from beneath layers of packed ice.
Will there be any snow in Lapland this Christmas?
According to travel company J2SKI, very little snow is expected in Lapland over the coming days.
The next snowfall is anticipated on 6 December, and over the next week, ski areas are expected to receive between 2 and 6cm of snow. While it is possible to ski and sled on smaller depths of snow like this, the packed ice underneath is likely to make conditions unfavourable for many popular winter activities.
Is climate change hitting Lapland?
It’s not just the winter that has been mild in Scandinavia. Finnish Lapland saw the warmest summer on record this year, with June, July, and August recording record temperatures at almost all weather stations in the Northern parts of the country. On average, temperatures were 2 to 3.5 degrees C higher than the average.
Finland’s Meteorological Institute blames climate change for the heat, with researcher Mika Rantanen telling news agency AFP, “The minimum temperatures were very high in Lapland… there were no cold spells at all.”
At the end of October, Lapland was experiencing an unusually warm spell, with temperatures in Kilpisjärvi soaring to 11.2 degrees C. The average high for the region in October is just 2.8 degrees C. And in November, the town of Utsjoki recorded temperatures of 11 degrees C, breaking the previous record high set in 1975.
Jim Dale, founder and Senior Meteorological Consultant at British Weather Services told Euronews Travel that climate change is to blame. He said, “Over the past 20 years, there has been a regression of European snow, punctuated by occasional very large falls and also sudden thaws that have often made for dangerous conditions. That is climate change inspired without a shadow of a doubt.”
Dale explained that, with more moisture in the atmosphere, snowfalls are bigger when the air is cold enough. This sort of famine-to-feast scenario is a pattern he sees continuing in the future. “That isn’t to say there won’t be ordinary seasons when everything appears as it was – that’s the natural flow of weather. But it’s all underscored by climate change and the unpredictability and chaos that it can and will bring,” he added.
Sharron Livingston, travel expert and founder of The Travel Magazine, told Euronews Travel it’s not just Lapland suffering.
“The lack of snow is not unique to Rovaniemi. In 2023, the Alps around Switzerland, Italy, and France had an unusually mild winter, and there was a deficit of snow in low altitudes. It may be due to climate change or just the way it is currently and could change.”
