'snow is starting to disappear from our lives'

The Independent  told us all in 2000, in an article by Charles Onians that ''snow is starting to disappear from our lives' and that 'Children just aren't going to know what snow is'. Really? How many days have been lost to 'unprecedented' smow-fall over the last three winters? Any children who don't know what snow is? Of course not, The Independent's article in 2000 just repeated the claims of the 'warmists' for whom a day is not complete if they cannot scare people about the results of global warming.

Here's some more extracts from that Independent article for your amusement:

'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 excitement of waking to find that the stuff has settled outside are all a rapidly diminishing part of Britain's culture, as warmer winters - which scientists are attributing to global climate change - produce not only fewer white Christmases, but fewer white Januaries and Februaries.

The first two months of 2000 were virtually free of significant snowfall in much of lowland Britain, and December brought only moderate snowfall in the South-east. It is the continuation of a trend that has been increasingly visible in the past 15 years: in the south of England, for instance, from 1970 to 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.'

And what about since 2007, how many days of snow in the south of England? And how many substantial snow falls in London?

'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 0.6°C 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.

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'

I am going to contact the experts mentioned in this article and ask them what their more recent view of England and snow has been...