Switzerland, the European capital of winter tourism, is facing the warmest December temperatures in the last 150 years, according to the AFP news agency.
High December temperatures, clear skies and snow-free ski slopes have a bad effect on the winter tourist ski season in the country of winter sports.
Average temperatures are 3,4 degrees Celsius higher than the long-term average for December, which is the biggest increase since temperature measurements began 150 years ago, according to data from the Swiss Agency for Meteorology and Climatology.
"There is no doubt that this is the warmest December since temperatures were measured in 1864. Clearly, this is especially pronounced at high altitudes," said Stefan Bader from the Agency for Meterology and Climatology.
The high temperatures and lack of snowfall are having a bad effect on caterers in the Swiss Alps, who are already facing a significantly reduced inflow of foreign tourists due to the strong Swiss currency.
The Swiss Hydrometeorological Institute announced earlier this month that 2015 is expected to break the temperature record for the third time in just a few years.
Globally, this year was the warmest, while a new rise in temperatures is expected in 2016, the World Meteorological Organization announced last month.
The World Meteorological Organization has warned that human inaction in the field of climate change could lead to an increase in global average temperatures by about six degrees Celsius.
Experts warn that the large floods that are affecting Great Britain these days, extremely high global temperatures and large forest fires in Australia, associated with "El Niño", a phenomenon caused by climate change and excessive heating of the seas and oceans, indicate that the climatic conditions on Earth are worsening.
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