Ljubljana related
STA, 31 December 2021 - Maribor will not host the Golden Fox event of the women's Alpine Ski World Cup circuit for the third year running due to a lack of snow amid mild weather. The two-day event featuring slalom and giant slalom races has again been moved west to Kranjska Gora.
The organisers of the 58th Golden Fox told the press in Maribor on Friday that the World Cup races would be held on 8 and 9 January in the Kranjska Gora resort, which annually host the men's Alpine Ski World Cup races as part of the Vitranc Cup.
The decision of the International Ski Federation (FIS) comes after it was announced on Thursday that the Golden Fox will not be held on the slopes of Pohorje above Slovenia's second largest city due to insufficient snow cover.
FIS snow controller Markus Mayr expectedly said that the "situation is such that I cannot confirm the competition in Maribor ... due to the whole package of snow conditions, temperature, weather and forecast. This is why I have to cancel it."
Mayr, the director for technical events of the women's Alpine Ski World Cup, said that the "organisers have really put up an effort and gave their best in the given weather situation", adding that "this does not mean we are giving up hope in Maribor."
The event moves for the third time in a row to Kranjska Gora in north-western Slovenia, where it was held this January and in February 2020.
As for future Golden Fox events in Maribor, there is perhaps a silver lining as an alternative piste is being built at a higher altitude. "This will be an excellent new piste, which will add a new quality to recreational and competitive skiing," Mayr said.
Srečko Vilar, the secretary general of the Golden Fox organising committee, said that "this is not easy for us, the weather has not given us a break. We needed a few cold nights more, but we didn't get them. We accept this decision with sadness."
The Podkoren piste in Kranjska Gora will also host on 12 and 13 March two giant slalom events of the World Cup ahead of the 2021/2022 season finale in France's Courchevel/Meribel on 16-20 March.
STA, 1 November 2021 - Prime Minister Janez Janša highlighted the need to create a realistic path to implement the goals from the Paris climate agreement as he addressed the World Leaders Summit, a high-level political event held in Glasgow as part of the ongoing COP26 climate conference.
Moving away from coal and oil is a key element in reaching the set goals, and nuclear energy could replace fossil fuels as a transition source of energy, Janša said.
He stressed it was urgent to act to limit climate warning. "It is high time to create a realistic path to the 1.5 degrees Celsius goal," he was quoted by his office.
As the presiding EU country, Slovenia makes efforts towards this goal, yet the EU, contributing just 8% of global CO2 emissions, cannot solve the problem on its own.
He thus urged all countries to produce their offers saying that "everyone must take their share of responsibility to ensure that our common efforts are effective".
"Our goal is to reduce emissions by 55% until 2030 and we are making efforts to modernise our climate and energy legislation," Janša said.
However, he stressed that the common measures are by far not enough to reach the goals set at the Paris climate conference in 2015.
"By the UN's estimate, the amount of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 will be by 16% higher than it was in 2010."
Janša also said he understood hesitation, so he stressed that "our efforts must not endanger social cohesion and economic development".
He believes that "technological and political innovations will enable finding new ways to implement all the three set goals".
He said more investment in new technologies is needed to develop cleaner, safer and more efficient energy, such as energy from hydrogen or fusion.
Slovenia remains firmly committed to reach the common goals with a realistic approach. "We have adopted a long-term strategy which sets the goal of climate neutrality by 2050 and the path to it."
Janša moreover urged all countries to contribute to the best of their abilities, and concluded by saying: "Let's make sure that this summit is a success."
On the sidelines of the two-day world leaders summit, Janša held several bilateral meetings, including with Serbian President Aleksandar Vučić, Georgian PM Irakli Garibashvili, Indonesian President Joko Widodo and South Korean President Moon Jae-in.
He also met Indian PM Narendra Modi, European Council President Charles Michel, Czech PM Andrej Babiš, Spanish PM Pedro Sanchez, Maltese PM Robert Abela, Romanian President Klaus Iohannis, among others.
The prime minister, who will end his visit to Glasgow on Tuesday, is also scheduled to meet some other world leaders, and IAEA boss Rafael Mariano Grossi.
STA, 20 June 2021 - Sunday marks the peak of this year's first heatwave in Slovenia, with several more days with similar temperatures - from 30 and 35 degrees Celsius - to follow before temperatures fall a bit on Thursday, a meteorologist at the Slovenian Environment Agency (ARSO), told the STA on Sunday.
Ljubljana had the first tropical night this year - meaning the mercury did not fall below 20 degrees during the night, while some more are to come, at least in Ljubljana, he said.
The hot spell is posing considerable heat stress during the day, especially in low-laying areas in central and eastern Slovenia.
Some reprieve can be expected from Thursday to Saturday, when the temperatures will slightly drop, said Strajnar.
The likelihood of storms is currently meagre, with some short-lived storms possible in the mountainous areas and in the north-west of the country, he added.
Due to the great heat stress, ARSO issued an orange warning for entire Slovenia until Wednesday midnight, except for the north-west, for which a milder, yellow warning is in place.
Just like yesterday, the concentrations of ozone in the western Goriška area exceeded the set threshold, and can irritate the mucous membrane and respiratory organs.
People with chronic respiratory or blood circulation conditions are advised to stay indoors, while healthy people are not advised to engage in physical activities.
A similar situation in expected tomorrow, ARSO said.
STA, 12 January 2020 - The Slovenian part of the Adriatic Sea has not been spared from the impact of climate change in recent decades, with the worst consequences including bleaching and die-off of corals, as well as the arrival of non-native species due to tropicalisation. Seaside wetlands are also expected to gradually disappear due to the rising sea level.
Presenting the situation at Tuesday's virtual lecture, marine biologist Lovrenc Lipej said that the consequences of climate change were already causing concrete problems in the Slovenian territorial waters.
Lipej, who works in the Marine Biology Station in Piran, pointed to the damage done to the cushion coral, a stony coral that forms the only true coral reefs in the Mediterranean Sea.
It is an endangered species that may be found in the Strunjan nature reserve, and is important due to its role of bio-architect, as it provides housing to various marine organisms, thus contributing to biodiversity.
This coral is sensitive to high temperatures, which may cause bleaching. This is a recoverable state, but in the worst-case scenario it causes die-offs.
Both occurrences have already been observed in Slovenia, where seawater temperature is not as problematic as the fact that relatively high water temperatures (up to 26 degrees Celsius) persist late into the autumn, Lipej noted.
What is more, due to tropicalisation, non-native species are expanding towards the north of the Adriatic Sea. A number of such species have been observed in the Slovenian sea in recent years, including the eyespot puffer and the bluefish.
In addition to environmental damage, these species may also cause economic damage, as the bluefish preys on the mullets and other commercial fish species, he added.
Due to the rising sea level, it is expected that certain wetlands along the Slovenian coast will become submerged, including the Sečovlje Saltworks and the Škocjanski Zatok nature reserve.
Biodiversity is expected to be affected there as the areas serve as nesting grounds for certain bird species.
According to Lipej, there are also issues that experts cannot attribute to climate change with certainty, such as the vanishing of seagrass beds and meadows.
He added that the Marine Biology Station was looking for possible solutions, such as repopulation of seagrass beds, growing young corals in laboratories, precise monitoring and elimination of non-native species and measures for balanced exchange of fresh and sea water in lagoons.
STA, 10 January 2020 - The expected rise in sea level in the coming decades and high tide flooding could affect some 3,800 people living on the Slovenian coast, flooding some nature reserves out of existence, a study has found.
High tides have been increasingly flooding low-lying parts of the Slovenian coast and sea level has risen by 10 centimetres in the past 50 years or by 1.7 millimetres a year, shows the study, conducted by researchers of the geography department of the University of Primorska Faculty of Humanities.
The researchers, Gregor Kovačič and Valentina Brečko Grubar, note that in the past 20 years the rise in sea level in Slovenia has been higher even than European and global average.
Scientists on the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimate the global sea level could rise by up to 100 centimetres by 2100, but unlikely not by less than 50 centimetres.
Given a 50 centimetre rise in sea level, high tide floods would cover 700 hectares of the Slovenian coast with about 25 centimetres of water on the lowest sections of the coast.
This would mean extensive flooding of the salt pans in Strunjan and Sečovlje as important fauna and flora habitats and of some residential buildings in the town Piran.
During high tide, the water level would be comparable to that of extremely high tides or extreme floods today, with about 80 centimetres of water on low-lying parts of the coast, or even 144 centimetres in case of a exceptionally high tide.
If sea level was to rise by a metre and given an increased tide, 1,246 hectares of land would be under water, an area comparable to exceptional flooding today.
The built-up areas of low coast would be threatened such as those in the area of Koper port or Bonifika in Koper, the coastal sections of Izola, and part of the settlement of Strunjan.
Like today, Piran would be hit the hardest with large part of the old town under water. Some residential areas of Lucija would also be flooded and the entire Sečovelje salt pans.
Given such a rise in sea level, more than 800 buildings would be flooded, affecting about 3,800 residents, most of them in the Koper municipality.
The rise in sea level would cause extraordinary flooding every year and part of the low coast would be mostly under water. The flooded area would increase considerably when the tide was in.
Even if the land was dry when the tide was out, the soil would be inappropriate for farming because of the salt in it.
Conservation areas such as the Škocjanski Zatok, Sečoveljske Soline and Stjuža in Strunjan would be gone forever, the researchers warn.
They call for making out detailed mid- and long-term plans to adapt to the consequences of sea flooding, including by mapping out where certain human activities are no longer possible.
STA, 7 January 2020 - Last year saw temperatures that were above average as well as an average precipitation volume and above-average sun exposure, show interim data released by the Environmental Agency (ARSO) on Thursday. The year of 2020 ranks among the hottest five recorded since 1961.
The temperature departure from the 1981-2010 average stood at 1.3 Celsius in 2020, meaning the year ranks fifth among the hottest years on record, preceded by 2019, 2018, 2015 and 2014.
Za nazornejši prikaz podnebnih sprememb zadnjih 60 let smo pripravili še animaciji odklona letne povprečne temperature zraka v Sloveniji. #PodnebneSpremembe pic.twitter.com/PA1rxBjO8g
— ARSO vreme (@meteoSI) January 7, 2021
The latter is considered the hottest as temperatures rose to 1.7 Celsius above the average that year.
The temperature departure in these years was most pronounced in southern Slovenia, excluding the coast and Bela Krajina in the south, and in parts of the country in the north-east bordering on Croatia.
All the months of 2020 were above-average hot, except for May.
The greatest temperature departure was recorded in February, 4.5 Celsius, making last year's February the second hottest February since 1961.
July temperatures were closest to the average, whereas May 2020 was a bit colder, with the temperature departure standing at -0,5 Celsius.
Long-term temperature measurements in Slovenia show that climate has been warming up in past decades, the agency said.
Last year was the tenth in a row recording rising temperatures compared to the 1981-2010 average. Since 2000, there have been only three years when temperatures dropped on the average.
The eight hottest years on record have been recorded since then, and among 20 years with the highest temperatures only three were prior to 2000.
Moreover, last year was declared the hottest year on record in a number of European countries.
According to ARSO data, the precipitation volume in 2020 was roughly on par with the average. January was the driest month, whereas December was the wettest.
Sun exposure was also above average, with 2020 ranking among five sunniest since 1961. The year that saw most sunshine is 2011.
January and April were particularly above average when it comes to sunny days. On the other hand, December was most notably below average.
STA, 23 June 2020 - When it comes to greenhouse gas emissions not included in the EU emission trading scheme, Slovenia is expected to reach its goals for this year, shows a report released on Tuesday. The largest gaps remain in measures related to transport, in particular railway infrastructure and the promotion of public transportation.
The Climate Mirror 2020 (Podnebno Ogledalo 2020) report, compiled by the Environment Ministry and the Jožef Stefan Institute, says that Slovenia could be satisfied with the implementation of measures to improve energy efficiency of household- and municipality-owned buildings.
Related: Ljubljana Predicted to Be World’s Fastest-Warming City
Among other things, a positive mark has also been given to sorting of waste and the consequential reduction of the volume of landfilled biodegradable waste.
The report notes the increased effect of incentives for energy efficiency improvement of buildings in the public sector, as EUR 100 in investment required EUR 38 in grants, which is EUR 26 less than in 2015, mostly owing to municipalities.
The state has meanwhile not reached the set goals when it comes to buildings in its ownership, as they are being refurbished to improve their energy efficiency at an annual pace of 1.2%, compared to the target of 3%.
The report also says that industry has been neglected in this respect for a long time, with progress detected only in 2018, when the Eco Fund offered grants for the first time for this sector.
Measures for boosting efficient energy use and consumption of renewable sources in industry should be brought to a much higher level and goals for reducing emissions should be clearly defined, it adds.
The largest gaps are seen in measures related to transport, in particular railway infrastructure and the promotion of public transportation.
In 2018, practically all indicators for transport worsened, while progress was detected in sustainable mobility projects prepared by municipalities as part of incentives of the current EU financial perspective.
Coming second in terms of emissions with 15.6% is agriculture, with the report noting that measures in this field should be more focused on reducing methane emissions and upgrading measures for improving the efficiency of nitrogen circulation.
Greenhouse emissions from waste were down by 7.4% in 2018, mostly owing to increased sorting of solid waste and construction of systems for mechanical biological processing of municipal solid waste before being landfilled.
Progress has also been made in treatment of waste water, as the share of advanced systems has increased, the report adds.
Stane Merše of the IJS' Energy Efficiency Centre said that the period until 2030 would be key for the implementation of measures, adding that "if we are successful, climate change will be manageable still."
According to him, energy efficiency improvement of buildings, use of renewables and sustainable mobility should remain the basis, while incentives for industry and transport also need to be increased.
Tanja Bolte of the Environment Ministry said that the report "shows that we are on the right track of reaching the goal of reduced emissions, but also that measures need to be enhanced", and that the "present moment is decisive."
A PDF of the full report, in Slovenian, can be found here
STA, 7 February 2020 - The 56th Golden Fox competition as part of the Alpine Ski World Cup, which was supposed to take place on 15-16 February in Maribor, has been moved to the Kranjska Gora resort due to the unfavourable weather forecast.
The World Cup slalom and giant slalom events for women is moving to the north-western resort, which traditionally hosts World Cup technical events for men, nicknamed the Vitranc Cup. It will be held on the same dates.
The decision was made on Friday as a delegation of the International Ski Federation (FIS) is visiting Slovenia's second largest city to check on the snow and weather conditions on the slopes of the Pohorje hills.
Markus Mayr, the race director for women technical World Cup events, who inspected the venue one more time today, said in a press statement that the conditions did not allow the event to be organised successfully in Maribor.
The decision, made together by the FIS and the organisers, was regretted by Srečko Vilar, the secretary general of the event. He said they would do everything in their power to organise a successful event at the alternative location.
"All persons responsible were united in the opinion that we should not take risks by organising the event in Maribor, because a competition weekend for the women's World Cup cold be lost," said Mayr.
He added that "thanks to such a decision, it will be possible to organise the competition in Slovenia."
Despite great efforts by the organisers, who have been struggling to keep the piste running, the unseasonably high temperatures and strong wind made this impossible. Not even cutting-edge snow cannons were up to the task.
Mayr also said in the press release that the FIS had full confidence in the organising committee and that the federation counted on Maribor to organise women World Cup events in the future.
This will be the eight time that the Golden Fox moves to Kranjska Gora in the 56 years of the competition. It was moved there for the first time in 1976, and before today, most recently two years ago.
STA, 14 January 2020 - Slovenian tennis player Dalila Jakupović started the Australian Open qualifying tournament on Tuesday, but conceded after leading the match 6-4, 5-6 due to uncontrollable coughing and breathing difficulties, likely caused by smoke and air pollution from the continent's fires.
It is yet unclear whether her coughing fit was directly linked to fires wreaking havoc with the air quality, but many tennis players and coaches urged the organisers to postpone the matches.
After her retirement from the match with Switzerland's Stefanie Vögele, Jakupović told the press she was indeed having problems due to the polluted air.
"I think it's not fair to us, the players, besides, it's definitely not healthy," the 28-year-old said, adding she was shocked upon finding out the qualifying matches would go on today.
She highlighted that the organisers still had plenty of time until the tournament's start. "It was really bad. I've never experienced anything like it and I was quite scared. I was afraid of losing consciousness and falling down. That's why I dropped to my knees. I couldn't walk anymore," said Jakupović, who persisted playing for almost two hours.
Similar problems occurred during a match between Slovenian tennis player Blaž Kavčič and Brit Joy Clark. Kavčič won the match 7-6, 3-6, 6-2, but one of the ball kids fainted during the face-off.
Both players immediately stooped playing and came to the kid's help, report the Australian media, with the medical assistance being provided.
The first Grand Slam of the season takes place in Melbourne where air pollution has dropped to hazardous levels, the worst-rated in the world, with smoke from the fires lingering over the city. The authorities have warned the locals to take health precautions, stay at home and shut the doors and windows.
However, the organisers have assured the public they are constantly checking the improving levels and that umpires have the power to stop the matches to protect the participants' health.
"Not the best air quality this morning in #Melbourne," twitted today Patrick Mouratoglou, Serena Williams's coach, adding a photo of Melbourne blanketed in smoke haze.
STA, 13 January 2020 - The newspaper Večer argues in Monday's lead commentary that the state should help Slovenia's ailing ski-lift operators to invest into modernising their facilities and allow them to operate year round.
Given climate change and the projections that snow is not to be expected below ever higher altitudes, the paper agrees that millions' worth of investment into ski slopes at altitudes below 1,500 seems like throwing money out of the window.
"However, despite understanding climate change, the state should not just give up on ski resorts and leave them up to weather conditions and market rules."
The paper says that in that case most ski resorts would go bust, which would impact negatively on tourism, economy and jobs.
It cites a study commissioned by the Economy Ministry, which shows that one euro spent on a ski pass in Slovenia generates an extra four euro at the destination.
This is why it believes the question of why the state should bail out ski-lift operators should also take into consideration the multiplier effect, including the overall tax take.
It also says that ski resorts should expand their offerings year round.
"If the state transforms ski lifts into public infrastructure and allows new investment through subsidies, and if alpine centres focus on year-round tourism, we will be still skiing in Slovenia in 2100. It will only be three months, but mainly on account of visitors in the other nine," concludes the paper under the headline Skiing in 2100.
