A first in 16 years: World famous ice hotel can't be built this year due to climate change

A major tourist attraction that is available to tourist only once every year, the world-famous ice-hotel, cannot be built this year because of warm temperatures in 2019. The customers had already booked their rooms for this year but the construction was not given the go-ahead because there was a shortage of ice that would be used to build the hotel.

Climate change is warming the region

The Balea Lake Ice Hotel has been constructed every year since 2004 at an altitude of 2,000 meters. But due to climate change and the warming of the region, the temperatures have been higher in December resulting in a shortage of ice. Last year, the Hotel was already operational by Christmas and had operated till the Easter Holidays.

The hotel is created by workers who cut ice blocks with chainsaws but since the lake where they get their ice reserves from did not freeze fast enough there were no ice blocks for construction. According to a representative, due to the lower quantity of ice, building the hotel would not be cost-effective and therefore decided not to construct the hotel.

For the tourists that had already booked their stay, they will have to wait till next year when the company hopes to be able to build ice church and igloos again like previous years.

Ice hotels are temporary hotels made entirely of snow and sculpted out of blocks of ice. These are rare and exist in only seven countries and each nation has various construction styles varying in structures as well as the amenities provided which may include ice bars, restaurants, chapels, saunas and hot tubs.

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The construction of ice hotels is highly dependent on sub-freezing temperatures (colder than 0 °C or 32 °F) during construction and operation. This restriction applies a time limit on the time the hotel can be constructed and operated.

Ice hotels have to be built every year from scratch and one the operating season has ended the operators can simply let the structure melt and thus not have to pay for upkeep during the off-season.

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