First Snow on Mount Fuji Latest Ever

On the morning of November 7, the Japan Meteorological Agency’s Kōfu Local Meteorological Office announced that snow had settled on Mount Fuji, setting a new record for its late arrival on Japan’s highest peak. The 3,776-meter mountain had been snowless in November for the first time since records began in 1894. These records show that the earliest occurrence of first snow came on August 9 in 2008 and the previous latest on October 26 in 1955 and 2016.

The decision to announce the first snow of the year is based on whether it has settled on the surface of the mountain as observed from the Kōfu Local Meteorological Office in Yamanashi Prefecture. Even if it is observed from Shizuoka Prefecture or local authorities at the foot of the mountain, it is not considered official. On November 6, some media outlets sent helicopters up and shared photographs and footage of snow around the peak, but there was no announcement from the Kōfu facility.

Mount Fuji was not the only summit to experience the phenomenon. The first snowfall on Mount Asahidake (2,291 meters), Hokkaidō’s tallest mountain, was recorded on October 20 this year, the latest arrival since records began in 1888.

The Tateyama Range (3,015 meters) in Toyama Prefecture saw its first dusting on October 8 in 2023, but snow has yet to fall this year. Since records began in 1939, the first snow has only twice come in November: on November 2 in 2016 and November 9 in 1977.

Meanwhile, the Hakkōda Range (1,584 meters) in Aomori Prefecture recorded its first snow on October 20, which was one day later than average and one day earlier than in 2023.

As part of shifting weather conditions, cloud cover may lead to late reporting of snow that cannot be seen from the observatories, making it difficult to pinpoint global warming as a definitive cause of the late arrival of the season’s first snow. However, the record clearly shows that the first dustings in 2023 and 2024 were significantly later compared to 2000.

(Translated from Japanese. Banner photo: Snow can be seen on Mount Fuji in a photograph taken by Kyōdō News from a helicopter in the morning of November 6, 2024, the day before the official announcement. © Kyōdō.)