The severe winter outbreak with heavy snowfall and sub-zero temperatures has surprised many in Germany. Bio- and environmental meteorologist Andreas Matzarakis explains that such extremes can still occur despite climate change. He highlights the climate's instability due to cold polar air and a warmer Atlantic.
The current winter outbreak in Germany, featuring heavy snowfall and extreme sub-zero temperatures, raises questions about climate change. Andreas Matzarakis, a bio- and environmental meteorologist, explains in an interview that such phenomena remain possible despite global warming.
Matzarakis recalls past extremes: In Freiburg, he experienced temperatures down to minus 15 degrees Celsius, and in Munich during the winter of 1984, even minus 25 to minus 27 degrees Celsius – triggered by the eruption of the El Chichón volcano in Mexico. "Extreme cold outbreaks in winter have always occurred and will continue to do so," he says. Often, multiple factors combine.
While winters are tending to become milder overall, fluctuations are expected. Human-induced climate change causes instability: Cold polar air masses flow into Europe, while the Atlantic has warmed, producing more water vapor. This combination favors snowfall. "Such events with extreme snowfall will become less frequent overall, but they will still happen," Matzarakis emphasizes. This year, snowfall arrived later than in the past, when it used to start in November – a timing the ski industry had adapted to.
Personally, the Greek meteorologist, who grew up in the mountains, dislikes snow: "I hated it in my childhood because it meant I couldn't go to school." Yet he sees benefits for nature: Snow provides water supply and insulates plants against freezing. "As an environmental meteorologist, I must say that snow is actually something good."
While winter sports enthusiasts and Christmas fans welcome snow, it causes chaos on the roads.