The Independent has now issued a defence of its publication of the David Viner `Snowfalls are now just a thing of the past' story. As commenters note it's not a very strong defence, putting the blame on the headline writers.
A more accurate headline would be something like: "Snowfalls are becoming less frequent in our little corner of the world but that doesn't necessarily mean that snow will disappear from our lives completely and forever." Unfortunately, any sub-editor who would suggest such a tediously long headline is unlikely to last very long.
H/T Jiminy Cricket in the comments.