Hot Halloweens and not-so-white Christmases: Holidays and climate change

People have always associated the holidays in late autumn and winter with cold seasonal weather; as people often shiver in their costumes on Halloween night and wake up to a thick layer of snow on Christmas morning. 

Today, though, children who go door-to-door for Halloween might not even have to think about wearing anything over their costume. On Christmas Day, green grass is getting more common to see.

What looks like a series of mild weather events is actually part of documented change in climate patterns, which is gradually affecting two of the year’s most cherished holidays.

The changes in climate are shifting the nostalgic feeling we associate with the holidays. Previously, the chilly nights of October and the silent covering of snow made the holidays feel extra special. Today, younger generations are experiencing completely different ideas of what weather should look like on holidays compared to their parents.

 Sophomore Jack Zobak points out how this change affects the holiday atmosphere.

 "It definitely doesn't have the same Christmas feel when there is hardly any or no snow on the ground; it lacks the holiday spirit that you picture when you think of Christmas. I have noticed that there is less snow on the ground during the Christmas season, and as a result it feels less like Christmas and more like just another day. It’s hard to get in the holiday mood when it feels like the polar opposite of how I grew up with snow every year,” said Zobak.

This by no means is an isolated opinion, for Zobak's response is in line with an increasing trend of people who believe that milder winters are making the holiday period seem unfamiliar.

The warming trend is more noticeable in winter, since it is currently the season warming up the quickest throughout the United States. Climate Central reports that in 97 percent of the U.S. locations that have been studied over the last five decades, the temperatures in late December have risen. Since the air is warmer in winter, the precipitation falls as rain rather than snow. The snow that is already there melts quickly before the holidays. Consequently, the chance for a white Christmas described by meteorologists (1 inch or more of snow), has significantly decreased in many northern regions of the U.S.

As for Autumn, data obtained from Climate Central shows that the average temperature of nights in October has increased by more than 2 degrees Fahrenheit across the country since 1970. In almost 90 percent of the U.S cities that have been examined, Halloween nights are warmer, altering the way communities go on about their holidays.