An episode of “industrial snow” took place in the Rhône on December 30. (@Mickael Bruno via Romain Weber)
Several municipalities in the Rhône were affected by an episode of “industrial snow” on Monday December 30 in Lyon.
An episode of so-called “industrial” snow affected the Rhône and the Lyon metropolitan area on Monday December 30. In Feyzin, Corbas or Lentilly, falls of this polluted snow were observed.
These flakes are linked to the encounter between atmospheric pollutants and winter anticyclonic conditions indicates Météo France. The cold moist air remains on the ground, where the temperature is colder than that observed at altitude, preventing pollution from dispersing and allowing these flakes to form.
The Weather Channel specifies: “It is not a “fake snow”, but a snow whose formation conditions are made possible thanks to the industrial activity of man.” The flake is formed according to the same rules as classic snow, but its formation process is initiated by the pollutant microparticle. It is this microparticle which then allows the water to become solid at a higher temperature than in the framework of a classic snowflake.
“A priori, it is no more dangerous than breathing when the air is polluted,” estimated Stéphane Socquet, the ATMO deputy director in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes interviewed by France Inter in January 2022.
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