TOKYO — Mount Fuji finally got its iconic snow cap, according to meteorologists Japan said Thursday, more than a month later than last year and the last year in 130 years of record-keeping.

The snow cover on the nearly 12,300-foot-high mountain appeared 33 days later than last year, Japan Meteorological Agency officials in neighboring Kofu district said, making it made the longest delay since observations began in 1894.

The previous record was in 2016, when Mount Fuji’s first snow fell on October 26, while last year the first snow fell on October 5.

Mount Fuji, Japan’s national symbol, is a pilgrimage destination and UNESCO World Heritage Site that attracts hikers from around the world.

Snow usually begins to fall in early October, about a month after the summer hiking season ends. In 2008, the first snowfall arrived on August 9.

Thousands of tourists flock to surrounding towns each year just to get a photo of the iconic snow-capped peak, which becomes increasingly visible in winter with the gradual disappearance of the clouds that usually shroud the peak in summer.

This year’s delay drew attention on social media, where photos of Mount Fuji’s snow-free summit after an unusually warm autumn raised concerns about climate change.

Authorities say it is too early to know whether climate change is the cause.

“I think we need to look at the data over a longer period of time to draw a conclusion,” Shigeru Kiryu, an official at the Kofu meteorological observatory, told the Associated Press.

Arata Yamamoto reported from Tokyo and Mithil Aggarwal from Hong Kong.