Cd, Cu and Zn have been measured using ultraclean procedures in snow and ice deposited at a high altitude location in the French/Italian Alps during the past two centuries. These data provide the first time series of changes in the occurrence of heavy metals in ice and snow from temperate regions since the Industrial Revolution. Concentrations are constant until the end of the nineteenth century. Then they increase by 10, 15 and 30 fold for Cu, Cd and Zn, respectively till the 1970s. During the following two decades Cd and Zn concentrations then decrease whilst Cu continues to increase. These temporal changes are compared with changes in emissions in Western Europe. ¿ 2000 American Geophysical Union