By AFP - Agence France Presse
As the Arctic climate warms, even Santa Claus is running out of snow
The Arctic is warming faster than other parts of the world due to climate change
At this time of year, the town of Rovaniemi in Finnish Lapland, marketed by tourism authorities since the 1980s as the “real” home of Santa Claus, should be white and beautiful.
But on a recent visit, rain was falling from a gloomy sky, and the temperature was well above zero, with the thermometer reading +2C.
“My reindeer can fly, so that's not a problem,” said the gentleman in the red suit and long white beard, resting his tired legs after a long day of meeting excited children and adults.
But “we can see that climate change is real. And it's affecting the reindeer. It's affecting life here in the Arctic,” added the gentleman, whose employers did not want to identify him by his real name.
Herders say the milder and more unpredictable winters have left reindeer struggling to dig up their main food, lichen.
The snow and ice have melted and refrozen, burying them under layers of compacted ice.
The Arctic is warming faster than other parts of the world due to climate change - almost four times faster, according to research published by Finnish scientists in the journal Nature in 2022.
Warming global temperatures, driven by humans burning fossil fuels, have exacerbated climate disasters such as floods and droughts worldwide in recent years.
In Finnish Lapland, after a historically hot summer, a new November temperature record was set a few weeks ago when 11.1ºC was measured in the town of Utsjoki, breaking the previous record of 11.0C from 1975.
Tourism boom
Tourists from all over the world flock to Rovaniemi to see its enchanting, snowy landscapes and experience the Arctic cold.
With only a few hours of daylight at this time of year, many also hope to see the spectacular colors of the aurora borealis that spread across the dark sky.
Last year, the city recorded a record of more than one million overnight stays.
Visitors wishing to catch a glimpse of Santa Claus can meet the man himself at different locations in Rovaniemi, including the underground theme park Santa Park and the nearby Santa Claus Village.
“It's really cool. It's like in Christmas movies, super magical,” said Maria Batista Torres, from Tenerife in Spain, visiting Santa's Village with her two young children.
Bright fairy lights illuminate the roofs and trees of Santa's Village, which is open all year round.
“I imagined it would be a lot snowier,” said Wenguel, a visitor from the United States.
“I mean, it still feels like Christmas... but I thought it would be a bit more like Santa Claus.”
As well as meeting Santa, visitors can pay to ride a snowmobile or take a sleigh ride with reindeer.
Although a visit to Santa's Village is free, a photo with Santa costs at least 40 euros (42 dollars).
Wish for peace
Gloomy skies aside, Santa's post office in Santa's Village was buzzing with activity, with red-capped elves stamping cards and sorting piles of letters in the Christmas rush.
“In December, there can be around 30,000 letters a day,” said postal elf Heidi Mustonen, who has worked there for 20 years.
More than half a million letters to Santa arrive here every year, said Heidi, insisting that each letter be opened and read carefully.
Most of the letters were wish lists, but both children and adults also wrote to tell Santa about their worries, fears, wishes, and joys, and many of the envelopes contained drawings and small gifts.
“This year, many people wished for peace,” said Heidi.
Most of the letters sent from Asian countries were written by young adults, many of them wishing for strength to cope with their studies, she said.
The letters from European countries, on the other hand, were written mainly by children.
Heidi said she loved the warm and happy atmosphere of Santa's village but wished for snow to light up the landscape.
“We would make snow everywhere if we could. But we're just post office elves.”
ank/po/rlp
© 2024 AFP
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