TOKYO, JAPAN (MERXWIRE) – The impacts of global warming are far more complex than we imagine. When people discuss climate change, they often focus on extreme summer heat, melting glaciers, and rising sea levels, yet overlook a seemingly paradoxical phenomenon: as the climate continues to warm, winter snowfall in certain regions is not decreasing but actually increasing, with unprecedented blizzard disasters occurring.
Recent research from Hokkaido University in Japan confirms that behind this “warming yet heavy snowfall” paradox lies clear scientific logic. From January 21 to 23, 2025, the Tohoku and Hokuriku regions of Japan experienced extreme snowfall, with multiple observation points recording over 100 centimeters of snow. Ishikawa, Shiga, and Fukui prefectures successively issued “Significant Heavy Snow Weather Information.” In 2024, a research team led by Tomonori Sato, then an associate professor at the Institute of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Hokkaido University, used the “extreme weather attribution analysis” technique to confirm that the heavy snowfall in Hokkaido in 2021 increased by 10% to 20% due to global warming.
The sudden surge in snowfall volume profoundly affected people’s daily lives. Corporate employees had to spend considerably more time clearing snow, and citizens were forced to forgo routine shopping for daily necessities and hospital visits. Elderly people living alone may require increased assistance from social welfare institutions and local governments to clear accumulated snow around their homes, preventing property damage or even structural collapse.
How Does Warming Create More Intense Snowfall?
Hiroaki Kawase, winner of the 2020 Masanao Arakawa Award from the Meteorological Society of Japan and director of the First Laboratory of Applied Meteorology Research at the Japan Meteorological Agency’s Meteorological Research Institute, explains that global warming’s impact on snowfall exhibits a “double-edged sword” characteristic. On one hand, as temperatures rise, snow depth in coastal areas of eastern and western Japan is indeed decreasing and will continue to decline. Data shows that between 2015 and 2024, the number of days with daily snowfall exceeding 20 centimeters decreased by approximately half compared to 1962-1971. For example, on the Sea of Japan side of eastern Japan, heavy snow days averaged about 3.9 days per year in the past, but only about 1.9 days in the most recent decade.
However, while warming reduces overall snow accumulation, extreme snowfall over short periods is actually showing an increasing trend in inland Hokuriku and Hokkaido regions. This is because warmer atmospheres can hold more moisture. When cold air moves south and encounters the warm currents of the Sea of Japan, it produces more intense precipitation. Since temperatures in these regions remain below freezing, the precipitation falls almost entirely as snow, leading to staggering snow accumulation in short periods.
Professor Sato’s research team points out that during the January 2025 heavy snow event, global warming caused by human activities intensified precipitation (both rain and snow) in the Hokuriku, Tohoku, and Hokkaido regions, directly contributing to increased snowfall in inland and mountainous areas. On the Sea of Japan side of eastern Japan, extreme precipitation increased by approximately 9.5% due to warming, and since local temperatures remained below zero degrees, nearly all of this increased precipitation converted to snow accumulation.
Disruptions and Impacts on Daily Life
Extreme snowfall is not merely a change in meteorological data but causes severe disruptions to societal operations. According to reports from Japan’s Fukushishinbun (Welfare News), the late January heavy snow severely impacted social welfare institutions in the Tohoku region, with Akita, Aomori, and Yamagata prefectures successively implementing disaster relief laws.
The sudden surge in snowfall volume profoundly affected people’s lives. Corporate employees had to spend more time clearing snow, and citizens were forced to forgo daily shopping and hospital visits. Elderly people living alone may require more assistance from social welfare institutions and local governments to clear snow around their homes, preventing property damage or even collapse. Worse still, the dramatic increase in precipitation may also elevate the incidence of outdoor falls and fractures among citizens.
Regarding transportation, disaster information released by the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism between January 11-13 showed that although expressways and national highways were not closed due to disasters, snowfall severely impacted transportation. Multiple East Japan Railway Company (JR East) lines were suspended, including the Gono Line, Tadami Line, Kitakami Line, and Ban’etsu West Line, with some sections out of service for several days. This not only affected commuters but also hindered material transport and emergency rescue operations.
Paradoxical Climate: Blizzards in a Warm Winter
Even more ironically, amidst frequent extreme snowfall, the Japan Meteorological Agency issued “Early Warning Information on High Temperatures” on February 16, 2026, forecasting that the Tohoku region would experience “once-in-a-decade abnormal high temperatures” starting February 22, with five-day average temperatures exceeding normal by more than 2.4°C. This dramatic winter temperature fluctuation is a typical characteristic of climate change—the frequency and intensity of extreme events rising simultaneously, with severe cold and warm winters potentially alternating within short periods.
Meteorological experts warn that as global warming continues, this pattern of alternating “extreme snowfall” and “extreme high temperatures” will become more frequent. Snow-covered regions must face greater avalanche risks, and infrastructure needs upgrading to cope with more severe weather changes. In agriculture, sudden temperature changes may damage crops, while social welfare institutions and medical systems need to establish more comprehensive response mechanisms.
The Extreme and Complex New Normal
These research findings and events reveal an important message: global warming is not simply “weather getting warmer,” but rather the destabilization of the entire climate system. As the atmosphere holds more energy and moisture, extreme events—whether heat waves, droughts, torrential rains, or blizzards—become more intense and unpredictable.
Related research, through event attribution analysis, has linked last year’s heavy snow to warming. This climate upheaval is not an isolated incident but rather a “new normal” under climate change. As the frequency of extreme weather increases, everything from personal disaster preparedness to national infrastructure planning needs to be reconsidered to adapt to this increasingly extreme climate future.
