THE INDEPENDENT SUNDAY 05 JANUARY 2014

Elephant Appeal ebooks i Jobs Dating Shop Register Login

NEWS IMAGES VOICES SPORT TECH LIFE PROPERTY ARTS + ENTS TRAVEL MONEY INDYBEST BLOGS STUDENT OFFERS
UK World Business People Science Environment Media Technology Education Images Obituaries Diary Corrections Newsletter Appeals

News > Environment

ELEPHANT APPEAL DONATE NOW >

Search The Independent
Advanced Search Article archive Topics
Go

Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past

BY CHARLES ONIANS Monday 20 March 2000
Shares: 18K PRINT A A A

Britain's winter ends tomorrow with further indications of a striking environmental change: snow is starting to disappear from our lives. Sledges, snowmen, snowballs and the Ads by Google excitement of waking to find that the stuff has Regus New York Offices settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing Amazing Office Space At part of Britain's culture, as warmer winters Low Prices. Ready -To-Go. Get 2 Months Free Now! which scientists are attributing to global regus.com/Serviced_Office_S climate change - produce not only fewer pace white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries Heroin Addiction? and Februaries. The first two months of 2000 were virtually free of significant snowfall in much of www.treatingopioidaddiction. lowland Britain, and December brought only com moderate snowfall in the South-east. It is the Brain Training Games continuation of a trend that has been Train memory and attention with scientific increasingly visible in the past 15 years: in the brain games. south of England, for instance, from 1970 to www.lumosity.com 1995 snow and sleet fell for an average of 3.7 days, while from 1988 to 1995 the average was 0.7 days. London's last substantial snowfall was in February 1991. Global warming, the heating of the atmosphere by increased amounts of industrial gases, is now accepted as a reality by the international community. Average temperatures in Britain were nearly 0.6C higher in the Nineties than in 1960-90, and it is estimated that they will increase by 0.2C every decade over the coming century. Eight of the 10 hottest years on record occurred in the Nineties. However, the warming is so far manifesting itself more in winters which are less cold than in much hotter summers. According to Dr David Viner, a senior research scientist at the climatic research unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia,within a few years winter snowfall will become "a very rare and exciting event". "Children just aren't going to know what snow is," he said.
Learn about treatment options for heroin addiction.

FOOD + DRINK

First there was the 5:2 diet, then the 2:5, then the 4:3. Where will it end?
January, and intermittent fasting is all the rage. But it's about to get even more radical PEOPLE

How to stay cool: An audience with Henry Winkler, aka the Fonz
FILM

Most Viewed Most Shared Most Commented

Battle of the Fbomb

Martin Scorsese's new film might not be a boxoffice hit, but it breaks one record... for sw earing BOOKS

Dolphins deliberately get high on puffer fish nerve toxins by carefully chewing and passing them around Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past Dreams of utopia in a potato patch: Young families rush to be part of proposed 'co-operative' town with low-cost, low-carbon homes The 10 best folding bikes

The effects of snow-free winter in Britain are already becoming apparent. This year, for the first time ever, Hamleys, Britain's biggest toyshop, had no sledges on display in its Regent Street store. "It was a bit of a first," a spokesperson said. Fen skating, once a popular sport on the fields of East Anglia, now takes place on indoor artificial rinks. Malcolm Robinson, of the Fenland Indoor Speed Skating Club in Peterborough, says they have not skated outside since 1997. "As a boy, I can remember being on ice most winters. Now it's Veronica Roth: 'I don't want smut on the page'
Divergent author on sex and teen fiction

As Britain counts the cost of extreme weather, the forecast is there's more to come

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

few and far between," he said. Michael Jeacock, a Cambridgeshire local historian, added that a generation was growing up "without experiencing one of the greatest joys and privileges of living in this part of the world - open-air skating". Warmer winters have significant environmental and economic implications, and a wide range of research indicates that pests and plant diseases, usually killed back by sharp frosts, are likely to flourish. But very little research has been done on the cultural implications of climate change - into the possibility, for example, that our notion of Christmas might have to shift. Professor Jarich Oosten, an anthropologist at the University of Leiden in the Netherlands, says that even if we no longer see snow, it will remain culturally important. "We don't really have wolves in Europe any more, but they are still an important part of our culture and everyone knows what they look like," he said. David Parker, at the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research in Berkshire, says ultimately, British children could have only virtual experience of snow. Via the internet, they might wonder at polar scenes or eventually "feel" virtual cold. Heavy snow will return occasionally, says Dr Viner, but when it does we will be unprepared. "We're really going to get caught out. Snow will probably cause chaos in 20 years time," he said. The chances are certainly now stacked against the sortof heavy snowfall in cities that inspired Impressionist painters, such as Sisley, and the 19th century poet laureate Robert Bridges, who wrote in "London Snow" of it, "stealthily and perpetually settling and loosely lying". Not any more, it seems.

and teen fiction

VIDEO

INDEPENDENT IMAGES

Christopher Nolan's Latest: 'Interstellar' Trailer

(Blinkx)

UK: ZOOS ANNUAL ANIMAL STOCKTAKE

Amy Adams Reveals Kissing Jennifer Lawrence Was "Great"

Schumacher 'out of danger'

Gisele Bundchen Frolics In Bikini

Recommended by

TECH

You may also like these

Is this the end for kitchen-sink dramas?

Guess how many Americans think humans are responsible for Climate Change?
(iSideWith)

You Won't Believe Your Eyes With These Perfectly Timed Photos!
(Amazingly Timed Photos)

30 Hottest Jewish Tweets of the Women Under 40 Week: Maria Will SHOCK YOU Sharapova and (Rant Lifesty le) her twins go shopping
(Sports Illustrated)

FROM AROUND THE WEB

Design firm creates selfcleaning plate... the only problem is, it's toxic TECH

The Most Outrageous They Won't Be Asked Back - 15

More from The Independent
(All Perfectly Timed) (Sty leblazer)

From around the web

Serena Williams beats Victoria Azarenka to win the Brisbane International (Sports Illustrated) Best Glasses for Every Face Shape
(Modamob)

'Mamma mia, how he squealed': Screaming mafia boss Francesco Raccosta 'fed alive to pigs' by rival Calabrian assassins in bloody mob war (29 Nov ember 201 3) Dolphins deliberately get high on puffer fish nerve toxins by carefully chewing and passing them around
(30 December 201 3)

Please switch on your phone

Advertising app that sends sonic messages from the big screen to your mobile trialed in cinemas FILM

Meet the Future of Consumer Robotics (Kotaku) The Blurred Lines Babe Speaks!
(MadeMan)

Plastic Surgery Disasters:

(Holly scoop)

Shreddies underwear wont

(Digital Trends)
Recommended by

Are These The Most Amazing, Hilarious, Perfectly Timed Photos or What!? (All Perfectly Timed) Katy Perry, on her 'controlling' exhusband Russell Brand (1 0

Birds that were once a common sight in Britain take flight, never to return (09 December 201 3)

SPONSORED FEATURES

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

husband Russell Brand (1 0 Tiger Woods Girlfriend Lindsey Vonn Caught Cheating
(RadarOnline) December 201 3)

Should the Big Six be nationalised?

(03 December 201 3)

Deadpan but alive to the future: Buster Keaton the revolutionary

He w asnt just a born star he w as a revolutionary film-maker ARTS + ENTS

Banks should stage recruitment drive (Ev ening Standard)

Government warned to cancel flood specialists job cuts as storms continue to batter UK (03 January
201 4)
Recommended by

Java Developer - Core Java (J2EE), Spring Hibernate, Rich Faces

40000 - 60000 per annum + Benefits + Bonus: Harrington Starr: Harrington Sta...

Ads by Google Regus New York Offices Amazing Office Space At Low Prices. Ready -To-Go. Get 2 Months Free Now!
regus.com/Serviced_Office_Space

Senior Statistical Modeller - Proprietary Trading House

Squaring the ancient and the modern
The art of Giorgio de Chirico BOOKS

60000 - 80000 per annum + Benefits + Bonus: Harrington Starr: AProprietary ...

Brain Training Games Train memory and attention with scientific brain games.
www.lumosity.com

3 Early Signs of Dementia Doctor: Know These 3 Warning Signs You're About to Suffer Dementia
www.newsmax.com

Web Development Manager - Financial Services

60000 - 90000 per annum + Benefits + Bonus: Harrington Starr: AFinancial Cl...

$549.99 Shower Enclosures On Sale Now! BUY Today - Free Ship - TV,Stereo,Massage Jets,Steam
acquatech.co/ShowerEnclosures

Exploratory Tester (Exploratory, Automation, SQL, Unix/Linux)

45000 - 65000 per annum + benefits+bonus+package: Harrington Starr: Explorat... View the latest from iJobs

3 C O M M E N T S
Post a Comment
Login

Maverick in a Pacific Tempest

Hanya Yanagihara on being a first-novel sensation PEOPLE

DAY IN A PAGE

Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat 5 Go January 2014

Post

'Of course we're not going to call it Rocknroll... I'm a f****** grown-up'
Kate W inslet hits back at those judging her choice of name for her son called Bear TV

TOP

NEW
ago

OLD

Nod Glodnig 30 days

ha ha! We get to show again what an incredibly stupid interview Dr David Viner did before he was kicked out of the CRU for foot in mouth disease no doubt. R E P L Y

+ 0

Ellin Sabio 33 days

ago

Where are the old comments? R E P L Y

+ 0

Celebrity Big Brother: Meet the housemates

Sam Faiers joins a host of other surprise names VOICES

Nod Glodnig 30 days

ago

Vanished like the melting snow. They're probably all still over on DisQus but I bet the Indepenendent didn't bother to pay for them to be copied overcopied over.

R E P L Y

+ 0

Never mind the anniversary of WWI - what about Top of

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

- what about Top of the Pops?

2014 marks 50 years since it sprung into a w elcoming nation's living rooms, and w e shall not see its like again, says DJ Taylor PEOPLE

Jim O'Neill: Money man who coins a good phrase

The bank economist charts the rise of the emerging nations in a new BBC radio series TRAVEL

Bling thing: Where the shopping never stops

Dont forget your w allet on a trip to Hong Kong. You never know w hat you may find FOOD + DRINK

Holy kale: Delicious recipes prove being virtuous doesn't mean depriving yourself
Last year's trendiest ingredient doesn't look like going aw ay any time soon

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com

Why throwing away the key doesn't work

It is not liberal

Is it 1914 all over again?

We are in danger of

Charity Appeal: Global greed for ivory that makes widows of poachers' wives
Juliana's husband was

First there was the 5:2 diet, then the 2:5, then the 4:3... Where will it end?
January, and

Battle of the Fbomb

Martin Scorsese's new

Search The Independent

Go

Advanced Search Article archive Topics

Terms & Policies Privacy Policy Cookie policy Code of Conduct Complaint form Email newsletters RSS

Contact Us Subscriptions Apps Work for us Evening Standard Homes & Property iJobs

Advertising Guide Syndication Novaya Gazeta (English) ES Business Connections ES Rentals independent.co.uk

converted by Web2PDFConvert.com