Ski resorts forced to shut as Europe starts new year with record-breaking temperatures

Published

3 years ago

January 3, 2023

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Unseasonably warm conditions and sparse snowfall has forced some low-level ski resorts to shut in recent days – as Europe started the new year with record-breaking temperatures.

Bare mountainsides and slushy runs have reignited fears over the effect of climate change on many mountain towns that rely on winter tourism.

Temperatures in France at the end of the year were the warmest for 25 years, according to national forecaster Meteo France.

It was a similar picture in Switzerland, where a weather station in the Jura range saw a record daily average of 18.1C on New Year’s Day.

January temperature records have already been broken in a number of European countries, with one meteorologist calling it “hard to comprehend”.

The northern Alps and French Pyrenees are particularly struggling for snow and some resorts, after barely being open a month, have had to close until things improve.

One of the latest to shut was Ax 3 Domaines, near France’s border with Andorra, which closed on Saturday after only a few weeks.

Le Gets and Morzine, part of the popular Portes de Soleil area, each currently have only two runs open.

“There was a good start to the season with a cold wave in mid-December, which provided some white to pretty much everyone,” said Laurent Reynaud of the Domaines Skiables de France, which represents resorts and lift operators.

“Then, last week, there was quite a bit of rain and warm temperatures, so a certain number of runs had to close again.”

Switzerland’s Adelboden, which on Saturday hosts World Cup skiing, is having to run the race on 100% artificial snow this year.

The Swiss resort of Splugen-Tambo, despite a base altitude of 1480m, also said on Monday that it was closing “until further notice”.

“Unfortunately, due to the lack of snow, the heavy rainfall and high temperatures, we have to close our ski resort from January 2, 2023, until further notice,” it said in a statement.

There is still some decent snow available – the southern Alps and slopes over 2,200m have close to normal snowfall – but skiers and snowboarders will have to head high.

Many lower altitude towns stand to lose out however, and are increasingly planning for a future that focusses more on year-round activities such as hiking.

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‘Truly unprecedented’

Germany, Poland and Czech Republic are among other countries that have already broken temperature records this year, with conditions more reminiscent of spring.

Warsaw recorded 18.9C on 1 January – shattering the previous record by over 5C, Ohlsbach in southwest Germany had 19.4C, and Bilbao in northern Spain recorded 25.1C.

Prague also had its warmest New Year’s Eve in 247 years of records, with temperatures reaching 17.7C.

London-based meteorologist Scott Duncan tweeted on New Year’s Day: “We just observed the warmest January day on record for many countries in Europe. Truly unprecedented in modern records.”

Wim Thiery, climate science professor at the University of Brussels, said the jet stream bringing warm air from subtropical areas into Europe had helped generate the warm temperatures.

But he warned the effect of climate change would radically change winter tourism in Europe.

“By the end of the century (it’s) just going to be over… skiing in the Alps as we know it.

“In the future, these problems will get worse, because the snow will continue to melt as long as the climate warms.”

World

Donald Trump sending ‘top of the line’ weapons to support NATO in Ukraine war

Published

16 hours ago

July 15, 2025

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Donald Trump sending 'top of the line' weapons to support NATO in Ukraine war

Donald Trump has agreed to send “top of the line weapons” to NATO to support Ukraine – and threatened Russia with “severe” tariffs if it doesn’t agree to end the war.

Speaking with NATO secretary-general Mark Rutte during a meeting at the White House, the US president said: “We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.

“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States, going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”

Follow the latest here

It comes as Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had a “very good conversation” with Mr Trump late on Monday. He thanked him for the “willingness to support Ukraine and to continue working together to stop the killings”.

Weapons being sent from to Ukraine include surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries, which the country has asked for to defend itself from Russian air strikes.

Mr Trump also said he was “very unhappy” with Russia, and threatened “severe tariffs” of “about 100%” if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.

The White House added that the US would put “secondary sanctions” on countries that buy oil from Russia if an agreement was not reached.

Mr Zelenskyy previously criticised Vladimir Putin’s “desire to drag [the war] out”, and said Kyiv was “working on major defence agreements with America”.

It comes after weeks of frustration from Mr Trump over Mr Putin’s refusal to agree to an end to the conflict, with the Russian leader telling the US president he would “not back down” from Moscow’s goals in Ukraine at the start of the month.

During the briefing on Monday, Mr Trump said he had held calls with Mr Putin where he would think “that was a nice phone call”, but then “missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and that happens three or four times”.

“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy,” he added.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump told Mr Zelenskyy “you’re gambling with World War Three” in a fiery White House meeting, and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia as he sought to negotiate an end to the conflict.

After Mr Trump’s briefing, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram: “If this is all that Trump had in mind to say about Ukraine today, then all the steam has gone out.”

Meanwhile, Mr Zelenskyy met with US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv, where they “discussed the path to peace” by “strengthening Ukraine’s air defence, joint production, and procurement of defence weapons in collaboration with Europe”.

He thanked both the envoy for the visit and Mr Trump “for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries”.

World

Trump announces weapons deal with NATO to help Ukraine – as he gives Putin 50-day ultimatum

Published

1 day ago

July 14, 2025

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Trump announces weapons deal with NATO to help Ukraine - as he gives Putin 50-day ultimatum

Donald Trump has agreed to send “top of the line weapons” to NATO to support Ukraine – and threatened Russia with “severe” tariffs if it doesn’t agree to end the war.

Speaking with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte during a meeting at the White House, the US president said: “We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.

“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States,” he added, “going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”

Follow the latest here

Weapons being sent include surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries, which Ukraine has asked for to defend itself from Russian air strikes.

Mr Trump also said he was “very unhappy” with Russia, and threatened “severe tariffs” of “about 100%” if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.

The White House added that the US would put “secondary sanctions” on countries that buy oil from Russia if an agreement was not reached.

It comes after weeks of frustration from Mr Trump against Vladimir Putin’s refusal to agree to an end to the conflict, with the Russian leader telling the US president he would “not back down” from Moscow’s goals in Ukraine at the start of the month.

During the briefing on Monday, Mr Trump said he had held calls with Mr Putin where he would think “that was a nice phone call,” but then “missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and that happens three or four times”.

“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy,” he added.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump told Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy “you’re gambling with World War Three” in a fiery White House meeting, and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia as he sought to negotiate an end to the conflict.

After Mr Trump’s briefing, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram: “If this is all that Trump had in mind to say about Ukraine today, then all the steam has gone out.”

He thanked both the envoy for the visit and Mr Trump “for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries”.

World

At least 30 dead and 100 injured as armed groups clash in Syria, officials say

Published

2 days ago

July 14, 2025

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At least 30 dead and 100 injured as armed groups clash in Syria, officials say

At least 30 people have been killed in the Syrian city of Sweida in clashes between local military groups and tribes, according to Syria’s interior ministry.

Officials say initial figures suggest around 100 people have also been injured in the city, where the Druze faith is one of the major religious groups.

The interior ministry said its forces will directly intervene to resolve the conflict, which the Reuters news agency said involved fighting between Druze gunmen and Bedouin Sunni tribes.

It marks the latest episode of sectarian violence in Syria, where fears among minority groups have increased since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces.

The violence reportedly erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida.

Last April, Sunni militia clashed with armed Druze residents of Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, and fighting later spread to another district near the capital.

But this is the first time the fighting has been reported inside the city of Sweida itself, the provincial capital of the mostly Druze province.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports the fighting was centred in the Maqwas neighbourhood east of Sweida and villages on the western and northern outskirts of the city.

It adds that Syria’s Ministry of Defence has deployed military convoys to the area.

Western nations, including the US and UK, have been increasingly moving towards normalising relations with Syria.

Concerns among minority groups have intensified following the killing of hundreds of Alawites in March, in apparent retaliation for an earlier attack carried out by Assad loyalists.

That was the deadliest sectarian flare-up in years in Syria, where a 14-year civil war ended with Assad fleeing to Russia after his government was overthrown by rebel forces.

The city of Sweida is in southern Syria, about 24 miles (38km) north of the border with Jordan.