Children Just Won't Know What Snow Is
Scientist: Kids 'Aren't Going to Know What Snow Is.' UK Then Gets Coldest December on Record.
A 2000 newspaper interview said snow would become 'a very rare and exciting event' within a few years.
What was said
“Children just aren't going to know what snow is.”
— Dr David Viner, Climatic Research Unit, University of East Anglia (quoted in The Independent) · said Mar 20, 2000 · due "within a few years"
Ten winters later, December 2010 was the UK's coldest December on Met Office record, with heavy snowfalls and travel chaos. The children knew exactly what snow was.
The Story
The Independent (20 March 2000) reported that, according to Viner, 'within a few years winter snowfall will become "a very rare and exciting event"'. That framing is the reporter's paraphrase; the 'children' line is a direct quote.
In fairness, the same article quotes him saying heavy snow would return occasionally and cause chaos because Britain would be unprepared. Because the target is vague, the counter runs from the day it was said.
Receipts
- Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past - The Independent (archived)accessed 2026-09-29
- Winter of 2010-11 in Great Britain and Ireland - Wikipediaaccessed 2026-09-29