A scientist specialising in snow and ice has predicted that skiing holidays in the European Alps could be a thing of the past – in as little as 20 years’ time.
Professor David Collins, a glacial specialist at Manchester’s Salford University, says lower resorts will probably stop being able to offer skiing holidays, while those at higher altitudes will survive only with the help of snow-making machines.
The professor told the Daily Express that recent measurements of glaciers show they retreated by record amounts in recent years, and snow-lines have been higher than in previous years. He reportedly said: “Any skier can tell you that it hasn’t been a good year; we haven’t had any real snow since January and the manufacturers of artificial snow machines must be having a field day.
“If this trend continues I think we could start to see the end of the traditional winter skiing break. I am not saying people won’t be able to go skiing because the higher resorts should be okay, but it could mean many of the lower resorts going out of business – and the best time to go skiing will be January and February.”
