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There’s still enough snow to ski at many resorts, but Japan’s built its international reputation on the reliability of its deep annual snowfalls. The Chinese New Year holiday, which starts later this month, will bring a massive influx of skiers from Hong Kong, Taiwan and China who may end up sorely disappointed. For a country concerned with tourism — and an industry already nervous about the effects of climate change — this winter is an ominous sign.

Andrew Lea, founder of the website Snow Japan, has lived in Niigata for 29 years, and by mid-January, he usually has at least a couple of meters of snow outside his house. This year, his garden was bare. “People who have been here 60 or 70 years can’t remember anything like this,” said Lea, whose site is an independent source for ski conditions at 500 resorts in the country, tracking daily snowfalls and accumulation. “Locals are getting a bit scared. If we don’t get snow soon, people are going to have to start closing down.”

Most of Japan’s ski resorts fall along the country’s west coast — from some of the peaks, skiers can see the Sea of Japan. The Japan Meteorological Agency, which tracks weather at hundreds of stations throughout the country, warned in early January that snowfall in the region was at its lowest in almost 60 years. At its station in Yamagata city, near Zao, the JMA measured snow depth at 1 cm as of Jan. 19 compared with a 30-year annual average of 21. In Hakuba, Nagano, the JMA recorded 0 cm compared with an average of 49 cm. In Yuzawa, Niigata, it was 0 cm compared with an average of 111 cm. Read more: Climate Change Is Killing Alpine Skiing as We Know It