Snow on Fuji. It was the longest wait for him in 130 years

For many weeks, Japanese scientists have been anxiously looking at the peak of the Fuji stratovolcano located on the Japanese island of Honshu. The 3,776-meter-high mountain should have been white with snow at this time of year for a long time.

This season, you had to wait until November for snow, which is the longest since data collection began in 1894. This year's anomaly broke the sad records from 2016 and 1955, when precipitation had to wait until October 26.

The Kofu Local Meteorological Office is responsible for monitoring the snow cover on Mount Fuji. The “first snowfall” is defined as the moment when all or part of a mountain is covered with snow. This usually happens in early October each year. Snow must also be visible from the Kofu observatory.

“When I saw the snow, I felt relieved,” said local meteorologist Mamoru Matsumoto.

The appearance of snow cover also symbolically marks the change of season in Japan. This year, the wait for white fluff has been the longest since the end of the 19th century.

– One of the reasons for this situation was the high temperature around the peak – added Matsumoto.

This year, the temperature at the summit in October averaged 1.6 degrees Celsius, which prevented rain from turning into snow. Usually at this time on Mount Fuji the temperature drops to -2 degrees Celsius.

This year's summer across Japan was also about 1.76 degrees Celsius warmer than the average in previous years.

The country's highest peak is also an active stratovolcano, which last erupted about 300 years ago.

For most of the year, the mountain slopes are covered with snow, which disappears during the summer period. Then most tourists decide to climb at night to see the sunrise from a height of 3,776 meters.