The heat wave that has swept southern Europe has forced the closure of summer skiing on an Italian glacier for the first time in 90 years.

Skiing is normally possible throughout the summer months on the Stelvio Pass glacier, which lies at 3,450 metres, or 11,319ft.

But the torrid heat of the past couple of weeks has turned the pistes into wet slush.

Much of Italy, including Rome, Naples and Florence, has been baking in temperatures of more than 40C and even in the mountains the temperatures have been well above average.

A view of the Stelvio Pass during the Giro d'Italia in May this year. credit: AFP

The glacier has been used as a training ground by generations of top skiers, some of them Olympic champions, but global warming appears to be taking its toll.

“It’s terribly sad that these pistes, which are a symbol of summer skiing, have become too dangerous because of the lack of snow,” said Deborah Compagnoni, a former ski champion who now runs a hotel in the area.

Gustav Thoeni, another ex-champion skier, used to train here in the 1970s.

He too has noticed drastic changes to the climate and the amount of snow since then.

“It would not infrequently snow in July and August. At the time you could use the ski lifts that start at the pass (which lies at 2,758 metres, or 9,048ft), while for the past few seasons skiers have been forced to use those that start above 3,000 metres,” he told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

“Unfortunately every day we see crevasses opening up. It really saddens me and it makes me worry about the future of winter sports here. It makes a big impression on you when you see how quickly the landscape of the mountain is changing.”

Global warming is blamed for unreliable ski seasons in the Alps, including the closure of a summer ski resort on a glacier in the Dolomites. credit: AP

Scientists say that many glaciers in the Alps are in retreat because of global warming.

One macabre consequence of the snow melting is that the bodies of Italian and Austro-Hungarian soldiers who fought each other at high altitudes up in the Dolomites in World War One are coming to light.

The latest body emerged just this week – the corpse of an Italian soldier who took part in what was dubbed “La Guerra Bianca”, the White War, which ground on from 1915 until 1918.

The remains of the soldier were recovered by a specialist alpine rescue team from the Carabinieri police.

Although the body of the soldier was decomposed, his uniform and equipment had been well preserved by being encased in ice for a century.

The remains were found in the Trentino region at an altitude of 2,920 metres, where a glacier is slowly retreating.

Experts will now try to identify the soldier and, if successful, get in touch with any living descendants.

During the campaign, both sides dug tunnels and gun emplacements into solid rock and ice, winching up artillery pieces and using iron cables to access high points from which they could dominate surrounding peaks and ridges.