'Snowdon could be snowless within 15 years', say scientists

Snowdon will lose all its snow in 15 years because of global warming, experts predicted yesterday.

The 3,560ft peak, the highest in England and Wales, has seen its snow covering fall by a third in ten years. Average spring temperatures are up about 2.5C.

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Dr Walmsley, an expert for the Countryside Council for Wales, said: "The changes that we've monitored are speeding up.

"For the last two years the snow cover on Snowdon has actually been half what we'd expect in a bad year. Based on current trends there is a strong possibility that there will be no snow on Snowdon all year round."

"It doesn't mean there will never be snow, but there will not be the semi-permanent winter coverage that we would see 15 years ago. In 15 years we anticipate there will be very few snow days. The amount of snow is going to fall drastically."

At the same time, global warming could wipe out two-thirds of Alpine ski resorts over the next 30 years.

A study by the respected Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development says that for every one degree C rise in temperature, 100 resorts will vanish.

Scientists have predicted that average temperatures in the region will rise two degrees within 30 years.

Already this year, a quarter of Europe's 666 major resorts are still closed due to lack of snow, wreaking havoc on the winter sports industry in France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria and Germany.

Some banks are now refusing to lend money for redevelopment to resorts below the 1,500metre level, says the OECD.

Property prices, meanwhile, are soaring in the highest Alpine resorts, such as Tignes, Val Thorens and Val d'Isere. The price of a ski holiday could soon turn what is already an expensive sport into something affordable only by the super-rich, the report says.

A OECD spokesman said: "Climate change is posing a very serious risk to the snow reliability of Alpine ski areas, and consequently to the economies that depend upon winter tourism."