Competition had initially been due to take place in Oberhof but the German Ski Federation informed the IBU that they would be unable to stage the event due to weather conditions in the town.

A lack of snow was cited as the reason for the venue needing to be changed and the IBU have opted to name Ruhpolding as the replacement.

Their decision to move to the ski resort, located 408 kilometres away from Oberhof, came after the IBU held a technical inspection

Ruhpolding was already scheduled to stage the fifth World Cup from January 13 to 17, but is now set to host back-to-back competitions.

The fourth World Cup is still on course to take place from January 7 to 10, with the action due to begin with the men’s and women’s sprint events on January 8.

Pursuit races will then take place the following day, before the event concludes with mass start competitions.

Tickets bought for Oberhof will still be valid for Ruhpolding.

France’s Martin Fourcade will head to the event top of the men’s standings on a total of 384 points, while the Czech Republic’s Gabriela Soukalova leads the women’s on 359.

The IBU World Cup is not the only event to have been affected by the lack of snow as the International Ski Federation have confirmed the Schonach Nordic Combined World Cup, due to take place on January 9 and 10, has been cancelled, with a warm weather forecast indicating the conditions would not improve in time.

It is the latest event to be hit by the unseasonably warm weather that has affected resorts across Europe and North America. 

The FIS yesterday announced a series of changes to the calendar, with some events having to be cancelled altogether. 

The International Paralympic Committee have also been forced to move back events in its Alpine Skiing Europa Cup circuit in the hope that weather conditions will improve.