Jakob Lindstroem | Stockholm | February 21

Bloomberg - Sweden's best-known ski race is in jeopardy after the warmest winter on record left the Nordic country bereft of snow.

Organizers of the Vasaloppet cross-country race, which commemorates a journey by King Gustav Vasa five centuries ago, are countering temperatures that have not fallen below minus 5.7 Celsius (21.7 Fahrenheit) in Stockholm with 50,000 cubic meters (1.8 million cubic feet) of factory-produced snow.

Weather disruptions have caused the race's 48,000 participants, including members of the royal family, to improvise before. The 56-mile event was canceled for the third time in its 86-year history in 1990. In 2005, locals had to scrape up snow from nearby lakes and import it from high-altitude ski resorts. The search resulted in a 3 million-krona ($470,000) loss and a decision to start a special fund for artificial snow production.