Mount Fuji snowfall sets new record in 130 years

Japan's Mount Fuji finally got some snow cover more than a month after it did last year, setting a record for the latest snowfall in 130 years, Japan's Meteorological Agency (JMA) said.

The Kofu Weather Station, which makes the annual official announcement, said its staff had visually confirmed some snow near the 3,776-meter (12,388 ft) summit of the country's tallest volcano.

While some snowfall was seen from the southern side of the mountain earlier, clouds obscured the view of the peak, delaying official confirmation.

The "first snowfall" on Mount Fuji is defined as when all or part of the mountain is covered with snow or "white-looking solid precipitation", and can be viewed from the Kofu observatory for the first time after summer.

This year's official snowcap confirmation marks the latest since records began in 1894.

Mamoru Matsumoto, an official from the Kofu Meteorological Office said he was seeing an overall trend of Mount Fuji's first snowfall being delayed in recent years although the reasons are still unclear.

"One reason we can raise is that the temperature around the summit of Mt. Fuji have been high since the autumn this year," he said.

Unusually warm weather resulted in rainfall not turning to snow in October, when the average temperature at the mountain summit stood at a record high of 1.6 degrees Celsius, compared to an average of minus 2 degrees Celsius, data from the JMA showed.

Summer was also warmer across the country, with its average temperature from June to August staying up 1.76 degrees Celsius higher than usual. - Report from Reuters