By Hannan Mohammed
In recent years, you may have noticed that our fall season has become much warmer, and so has our winter season as well—snow comes later in the year, and according to an article by NPR, the 2023-24 winter season saw the 48 lower states in the U.S. had their warmest winter in 130 recorded years. And in the U.S., winter is the season that’s warming faster than any other. However, why is this change occurring?
The main cause of these warmer seasons is climate change, and in particular, global warming. While Earth’s climate has changed across time, with ice ages and warmer periods, this current global warming is caused by human activity; specifically, how we add heat-trapping gasses to the atmosphere. When we do this, we produce gases such as carbon dioxide that come into the atmosphere and trap more of the Sun’s energy on Earth, which is warming up the planet. According to NASA, Earth’s average surface temperature has increased by 2 degrees Fahrenheit since the late 19th century, caused mostly by carbon dioxide emissions.
As these average temperatures rise, the coldest season is being affected the most. According to the Climate Reality Project, average winter temperatures across the 48 contiguous states have increased by 3 degrees Fahrenheit since the pre-industrial era. Because of this, many areas are beginning to see warmer winters overall. But how else is climate change affecting winter weather?
One of the other effects of climate change on winter, besides warmer overall temperatures, is that there’s more precipitation during the season, which can either be rain or snow. This happens because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture within; this excess moisture is released from the atmosphere as precipitation.
Another effect of climate change on winter is that severe winter storms, such as ice storms and blizzards, are becoming both more frequent and more powerful. This happens because there’s increased energy in the atmosphere from the Earth’s general warming, which can make these events more volatile. Furthermore, a powerful air current called the jet stream is starting to change easier. Because it can influence weather patterns, its shifts may lead to sudden changes in both temperature and precipitation.
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