Mount Fuji remains snow-less as November approaches, breaking record

Despite November fast approaching, the peak of Japan’s iconic Mt. Fuji remains bare, with no snow in sight as of Tuesday.

Snowcap typically starts to form on Japan’s tallest mountain at 3,776 meters (12,385 feet) on Oct. 2, but the unusually warm summer and fall in Japan this year deterred the usual cold conditions needed for snowfall, Yutaka Katsuta, a forecaster at Kofu Local Meteorological Office, told AFP.

This is reportedly the longest period the peak remained snow-free since Kofu Local Meteorological Office began recording in 1894. Before this, the longest records occurred on Oct. 26 in 1955 and 2016.

Katsuta agreed that climate change may partly explain the delay in Mt. Fuji’s snowcap formation. While snow came slightly late on Mt. Fuji last year on Oct. 5, NHK reported that most of it had melted due to the warm temperature.