Climate change is resulting in warmer winters, particularly in Europe, according to a recent study by Climate Central.
France, for example, has experienced at least 10 additional days above 0°C per year over the past decade.
This trend, particularly marked in the North and East, is not without consequences.
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Pollen allergies: France on alert
If the cold and the ice have dominated in recent hours in France, today's winters have nothing to compare with those of a few years ago. This is evidenced by a recent study by the Climate Central association which counted the number of fewer days of frost over the decade 2014-2023 by sifting through the minimum temperatures between the months of December and February, which correspond to the winter of the northern hemisphere. Verdict: climate change is resulting in warmer winters, particularly in Europe, with many more days above 0°C.
If the countries most affected were Denmark and the Baltic countries, France is far from being spared, with a more marked trend in the North and East. Over the last ten years, France has recorded 14 fewer days of frost on average in the Grand Est, with 13 fewer days for example in Hauts-de-France.
Focus on Paris and Besançon
To illustrate this change, Guillaume Woznica, weather specialist for TF1/LCI, took the example of two cities where the temperature has been recorded continuously for more than 150 years in France: Paris and Besançon. “In the 1950s, in the capital, we had an average of 30 days of frost per winter. Today, we have gone below 20 days. Same observation in Besançon, we have fallen below 60 days of frost. frost per year”, details the latter in the column at the top of this article.
And less frost also means less snow on the ground. While it was not uncommon in the 1950s and even in the 1990s to have at least 30 days in winter with 10 centimeters of snow on the ground near Besançon, since the 2010s, it hardly falls anymore. Nothing.
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In the mountains, which suffer even more from global warming since the temperature there increases twice as quickly as elsewhere, we also regularly lack snow. On average, for the past 50 years, we have lost a week of snow at medium altitude every ten years.
Consequences for agriculture and health
However, these increasingly mild winters have harmful consequences not only on the environment, but also on our health. In terms of water reserves, the less snow there is, the less water there is in spring, which increases the risk of drought during the summer, with direct consequences for agriculture.
Another concrete illustration of these milder winters: while one in four French people are affected by allergies, the peak period is about to lengthen, due to faster flowering and pollination linked to climate change. Finally, the life cycles of animals and crops are completely disrupted. This is evidenced by the number of insects, starting with mosquitoes, which can be vectors of diseases, which we now encounter even in winter.
