Social media posts claim record snow cover in the northern hemisphere in November 2022 is evidence against climate change. This is false; experts say a single month's measurement does not disprove the overall global warming trend, and data show snow extent varies and that cover has decreased.
Recent blockbuster snowstorms may be tied to climate change
Hazleton City firefighter Gregg Steeber clears snow away from fire hydrant on Broad Street, Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021, in Hazleton, Pa. Firefighters split up in residential neighborhoods to uncover hydrants buried in snow banks. (Warren Ruda/Standard-Speaker via AP)
Russell, left, and Michelle Hoyer try to find their driveway under the snow in Mount Arlington, N.J., Wednesday, Feb. 3, 2021. This week s winter storm appears to have broken a 122-year-old record for the most snow in a New Jersey community from one storm. The National Weather Service made a preliminary report Tuesday that Mount Arlington in the northern part of the state got 35.5 inches of snow in the three-day storm. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
Tourism, energy production and water supplies are all tightly connected to snow availability. In a context of climate change, keeping an eye on snowfall is ever more important.
At the end of December 6, 2020, many slopes in Italy’s Dolomites and in southern Austria’s Alps sat under 3 metres of snow. A snowstorm had swept Southern Europe, hitting some of its high-altitude areas with near-record levels of 900 mm of snow in 24 hours. It blocked traffic, and boosted the risk of avalanches, while teasing skiers who couldn’t access some of Europe’s best slopes as resorts stayed shut down under COVID-19.