No More Snow?
Flushing ice down the toilet. Putting a Toothbrush under the pillow. Waking up early, hoping that school was canceled. These are then the joys brought about by snow days. Snow days are a great day to rest, relax, sleep in, and go play in the snow. They’re loved by everyone: children and adults. Snow days bring us all together.
However, with an ever-changing climate, the chances of a snow day are going down. Data beginning in 1930 has shown a small decrease in total snowfall over each year (EPA). The big reason behind this is that warmer climates cause precipitation to fall as rain instead of snow. In some areas, it is cold enough to withdraw these warming conditions, and with climate change, snowfall has actually been increasing. However, in areas such as Southern New York where snow has always been close to being rain, small increases in temperature can cause a drastic decrease in the amount of snowfall (EPA).
This year, New York has been seeing very little snow. In fact, in Central Park there has been barely any measurable snow. There was a little snowfall, but it broke the record for the longest time without a recordable snowfall (Washington). The last record for the longest time without a measurable snowfall was just a few years ago, in 2020. And the one before that was pretty recent too.
Some scientists have even predicted what snowfall and winter would look like by 2050 if greenhouse gas emissions keep up at the rate they currently are. It’s estimated that below freezing days in winter will drop by about half, demonstrating that there will be more rain and less snow (Snow).
Although climate change is something so significant, most people are still not worrying about it. However, since everyone’s beloved snow days are starting to fall short of it, maybe more action can start to be taken against climate change, and the world can start acting. So should we save the snow?
https://www.washingtonpost.com/weather/2023/01/30/new-york-no-snow-record-winter/
