Queenstown's tourism industry may benefit from climate change, because ski fields will disappear elsewhere around the world by the end of this century.
Queenstown-based snow and ice expert University of Otago Emeritus Prof Blair Fitzharris said Australia, in particular, would have "great difficulty" maintaining its snow fields in the coming decades.
"New Zealand will still have snow and ice by the end of this century, but less of it and it's going to be more difficult to access," he said.
Prof Fitzharris, along with Jordy Hendrikx of the National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research (Niwa), will discuss how climate change will affect the Southern Lakes region and its tourism industry at a public lecture in Queenstown tomorrow.
In a talk titled "Climate change, snow, ice and tourism", the pair will draw on the latest findings from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, the World Meteorological Organisation and Niwa to address what climate changes can be expected for the South Island this century.
They will also discuss the potential impacts on snow and ice on South Island mountains and the potential implications for the tourist industry.
Prof Fitzharris said they would be using the Franz Josef and Tasman glaciers, snow on ski fields and alpine scenery as case studies in the lecture.
They would also discuss the wider implications of climate change for tourism in the Southern Lakes region.
"We hope to describe what will happen with respect to seasonal snow which is the basis for the ski industry and part of our scenery which attracts tourists," he said.
Prof Fitzharris has written more than 130 research papers on the subjects of climate, snow and glaciers and acted as a consultant on climate matters.
He has been a convening lead author for the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) since 1993.
Dr Hendrikx is a Niwa snow and ice scientist based in Christchurch and has undertaken research on snow, glaciers, avalanches and climate change in New Zealand, the United States, Switzerland and the Antarctic.
Before working for Niwa he spent time working as a researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research, and on the Milford road as an avalanche scientist.
The free lecture will be held at the Copthorne Hotel at 6pm.
The lecture is being organised by the New Zealand Snow and Ice Research Group and is sponsored by Niwa, Antarctic New Zealand and the University of Otago's Polar Environments Research Theme.
