KOFU—There is still no sign of snow atop Mount Fuji here after two predicted observation days in October yielded nothing.
If snow is observed on the mountaintop on Oct. 26, the next potential observation day, this year will tie for the record of the latest snowcap on Mount Fuji.
Prior record-holding years were set in 1955 and 2016.
ONCE AGAIN, GLOBAL WARMING?
Mamoru Matsumoto was at the office at 5 a.m. on Oct. 20. It was also his day off.
Despite his dedication, the official at the Kofu branch of the Japan Meteorological Agency in Yamanashi Prefecture would ultimately be disappointed after observing no snow on the peak.
Meteorological officials are tasked with reporting each year’s snowcap from the branch’s roof, but its location about 40 kilometers from Mount Fuji means any cloudy weather in the city obscures the summit.
This limits them to checking when the temperature is forecast to drop below zero and snow is possible.
Matsumoto started looking for snowfall from the end of September.
The meteorological observatory began this practice in 1894 and Mount Fuji’s first snowcap of the year traditionally signifies the transition of the seasons.
In 1961, observatories in Mishima, Shizuoka Prefecture, and Fujikawaguchiko, Yamanashi Prefecture, also began observing the year’s first snowcap.
However, this came to an end in 2002 in Mishima and 2003 in Fujikawaguchiko due to automation of the facilities. Kofu is the only observatory carrying on the tradition.
Last year, officials saw the first snowcap on Oct. 5. On average, it is spotted on Oct. 2, but it has occurred later in recent years.
The very first observed snowcap in 1894 when the observation started was on Sept. 22 and mostly occurred in September in the subsequent years.
The period following World War II, however, saw a shift to October.
In 1961, 1969 and 2017, the first snowcap was spotted on Oct. 23, the second-latest date recorded.
“I believe one of the causes is global warming, but I don’t know what the exact reason is,” Matsumoto said.
The Kofu branch forecasts Oct. 26 to 28 as the next stretch of observation days.
On or after Oct. 26, a front is expected to move northward over the Japanese archipelago, bringing with it the possibility of snowfall on Mount Fuji’s summit.
Should the skies be clear, the city will be able to see the outcome.
MOUNT FUJI DIVISION
Apart from the meteorological office, the local municipality of Fujiyoshida at the foot of the mountain has also declared the first snowcap of the season independently.
The municipal government’s Mount Fuji division visually confirms it from Fujiyoshida and began watching for this year’s first snowcap in September.
Even when the summit of the mountain is obscured from the meteorological office’s rooftop, it is sometimes visible from Fujiyoshida.
The Mount Fuji division’s latest recorded observation was Oct. 26 in 2017. It initially started observing and sharing the first snowcap in 2006.
Masatoshi Haneda, who manages the division, said when a cold morning for the next day is forecast, staff will wonder if it will be the day to see the first snowcap.
On those mornings, he rises at 5 a.m. to check the mountain peak from his home and, if there is snow on the ground of the mountain summit, makes the announcement after arriving at the office.
Like the meteorological office, he thought he would announce the year’s first snowcap on Oct. 20.
Both Haneda and his colleagues were disappointed when that was not the case.
“The snowcap doesn’t affect the city residents’ lives, but I’m waiting for the day when I can tell them about the changing of the seasons,” he said.
AloJapan.com