Australia’s snow season has started to melt early, experts say, as unseasonably warm weather has reduced snowfall by almost half the average for this time of year.

Global warming and early spring winds could see the season peak early, with snowfields melting in high temperatures and washed away by showers.

The season started slowly in June, until a major snow dump in July pushed the main snowpack at Spencers Creek to a healthy 48 inches (124 cm) of snow depth.

But persistent heat has caused snowmelt to shrink to 100cm, almost half the historical average, said climate scientist Georgy Falster of Australia National University.

“I grew up skiing at Perisher and … two metres in August was quite normal,” she said. “That’s what you would expect.”

According to Falster, snow depth has decreased on average since measurements began in the 1950s and seasons will end earlier and earlier as global warming continues.

According to Ryan Backhouse, who works at a snowboard rental shop in Jindabyne, near the Snowy Mountains in New South Wales, the snowfields and tourists on the ground have melted faster than normal.

“The snow doesn’t look too hot,” he said. “We’re in August and we should have our peak snow depth, but we have (field) cover that looks pretty bare.”

The warmth of early spring saw trees and flowers bloom and locals walking around the usually chilly Jindabyne in shorts and T-shirts, Backhouse said.

Nearby Thredbo Village experienced a series of days with temperatures above 10 degrees Celsius in August, well above the ski village’s average of 6.7 degrees Celsius for the month.

Climate scientist David Karoly, a Climate Council board member and avid skier, says similar warm weather last year forced lower-elevation ski resorts to close weeks earlier and this year’s season is headed for a similar end.

According to Backhouse, local residents, businesses and visiting workers were concerned about the possibility of the snowfields being closed years ahead of schedule.

“There’s a little bit of optimism that we’re going to get snow in the next couple of weeks, but it’s definitely weighing on people,” he said. “If the season ended up ending early, it would be pretty catastrophic for a lot of people who came down.”

According to Falster, some ski lifts in New South Wales’ Perisher Valley have already closed, well ahead of the traditional end of the season in early October.

Ski resorts are using machine-made snow to keep the field operational and the Bureau of Meteorology predicts snow will fall in mountain areas in Victoria and New South Wales over the next week.

But current climate predictions indicate that shorter winters and rising temperatures will mean less snowfall and shorter ski seasons across Australia.

“We don’t have to wait long until there is no more natural skiable snow,” says Karoly.

A report by the ANU, commissioned by advocacy group Protect Our Winters, found that the average length of the ski season will fall from the current 105 days to 81 days in 2030 and just 70 days in 2050, even if greenhouse gas emissions are drastically reduced.

The report also shows that local towns, tourism industries and ecosystems rely on snowfields and could struggle to survive if snowfall continues to decline.

Sam Beaver, policy director at Protect Our Winters, said mountain communities and industries need more government support to adapt and become less dependent on shrinking snowfields.

“If we do not tackle climate change and if we do not take coordinated action to adapt to the impacts of climate change in the Alps, we will face negative consequences,” he said.

“It’s pretty devastating to go there and see what it’s like.”