Global warming could make skiing impossible at many resorts in the Alps, according to a new study.
As the earth is expected to rise by more than 2C by 2100, snow cover in the region could drop by up to 70%, it said.
This would mean that only the very highest European resorts with slopes above 2,500 metres, such as Val Thorens and Chamonix in France, would get enough cover to stay open, it claimed.
It suggests that even if global warming is restricted to 2C, snow cover across the region will be reduced by 30% by the end of the century, which would leave 25% of resorts in the Alps that lie below 1200 metres without any snow.
The study by scientists at the Institute for Snow and Avalanche Research in the Swiss resort of Davos also warned that the bad start to the season could become a far more frequent pattern in future.
It said that even if global warming is only 2C, the ski seson would start up to a month later than at present.
After very early snow falls last November, the Alps were hit by a prolongued dry spell that left many resorts with poor snow cover at Christmas.
However, most of the largest resorts have invested heavily in snow-making facilities to ensure they can stay open, even when there is little precipitation.
