Alaska Forced to Reroute Iditarod Sled-Dog Race Over Lack of Snow

The famous Iditarod sled-dog race will alter its route this year because of low snowfall.

This is only the second time in the race’s 42-year history that the climate has forced a course change, the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reports.

Temperatures in Alaska have been rising twice as fast as the national average, increasing an average of 6.3 degrees over 50 years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Rocks and boulders that have been hidden for decades now block the dogs’ path to their finish line. This year, the race will start in Fairbanks rather than Willow and stretch over 1,000 miles.

[Fairbanks Daily News-Miner]