Mount Fuji finally gets its first snow, a month later than last year

TOKYO — Mount Fuji has finally gotten its iconic snowcap, meteorologists in Japan said Thursday, more than a month later than it did last year and the latest of any year in 130 years of record-keeping.

The snowcap on the nearly 12,300-foot-high mountain revealed itself 33 days later than last year, said Japan Meteorological Agency officials in the nearby district of Kofu, making this the longest delay since observations began in 1894. 

The previous record was in 2016, when Mount Fuji’s first snowfall arrived on Oct. 26, while last year the first snow was on Oct. 5.

Mount Fuji, a national symbol of Japan, is a pilgrimage destination and UNESCO World Heritage site that attracts hikers from all over the world.

It usually starts getting snow in early October, about a month after the end of the summertime hiking season. In 2008, its first snowfall arrived on Aug. 9.

Thousands of tourists flock to the surrounding towns each year just to get a picture of the iconic snowy top, which becomes increasingly visible in the winter with the gradual disappearance of clouds that usually shroud the peak in the summer.

The delay this year had drawn attention on social media, where photos of Mount Fuji’s snowless cap after an unseasonably warm fall raised concerns about climate change.

The effect of global warming on snow cover at high elevations can be “very complex,” said Yukiko Imada, an associate professor at the University of Tokyo’s Atmosphere and Ocean Research Institute.

“While snow cover in lowland areas tends to decrease, heavy snow cover at the top of the mountains rather increases,” Imada said in an email, “which makes the interpretation of this year’s case very difficult.”

“We will look into this event as a subject for further research,” she added.

Officials also say it’s too early to know whether climate change is the culprit.

“I think we need to examine data for a longer period of time to make any conclusion,” Shigeru Kiryu, an official from the Kofu meteorological observatory, told The Associated Press.

Arata Yamamoto reported from Tokyo, and Mithil Aggarwal reported from Hong Kong.