Snow cover trends in Finland over 1961–2014 based on gridded snow depth observations

Abstract

Snow conditions in high‐latitude regions are changing in response to climate warming, and these changes are likely to accelerate as the warming proceeds. Here, we analyse daily gridded snow depth, temperature and precipitation data from Finland over the period 1961–2014 to discover the ongoing changes in monthly average snow depths (SN) and several snow‐related indices. Our results indicate that regional differences of changes in snow conditions can be relatively large, even within such a small district as Finland. Moreover, the interannual variation of the various snow indices was found to be larger in southern Finland than in northern Finland. The largest decrease in snow depth occurred in the southern, western and central parts of Finland in late winter and early spring. This decrease was driven by increasing mixed and liquid precipitation and, especially in spring, increasing temperature. In northern Finland, the decreasing trend of snow depth was most evident in spring, but no change occurred during winter months, although the amount of solid precipitation was found to increase in December–February. In the same months, temperature and the amount of mixed and liquid precipitation increased, likely counteracting the effects of the increasing solid precipitation on snow depth. The annual maximum snow depth that typically occurs in March was found to decrease in over 85% of Finland's area, most strongly in western coastal areas. In almost half of Finland's area, this decrease occurred despite increasing solid precipitation. Our findings highlight the complexity of the responses of snow conditions to climatic variability in northern Europe.

Severe Drought in Finland: Modeling Effects on Water Resources and Assessing Climate Change Impacts

“…For example, Forzieri et al [22] indicated that snow amounts will increase due to increased precipitation, while our results as well as those from several other studies [39,[70][71][72] predict decreased snow amounts and an earlier spring due to warmer temperatures in many parts of the Nordic countries. Smaller snow amounts and earlier spring floods have also been observed in recent years [21,73,74]. Earlier and smaller spring snowmelt volumes affect the minimum discharges substantially, especially in the more southern parts of the Nordic region.…”

Decreasing snow cover alters functional composition and diversity of Arctic tundra

“…This complexity exists also in our mountainous study area, as SCD has surprisingly low correlation with temperatures (r s = −0.45). In recent decades, northern Fennoscandia has experienced a slight increase in winter precipitation and maximum snow depth but a significant decrease in spring snow depth and SCD (29,46,47). This indicates that gains in winter snowfall are not enough to counterbalance the advanced snow melt caused by higher spring and summer temperatures (48).…”

Solar UV Irradiance in a Changing Climate: Trends in Europe and the Significance of Spectral Monitoring in Italy

“…Negative trends of the 307.5 nm irradiance of about −7% and −5%, have been found for Reading and Sodankylä respectively (significant only for Reading), despite the absence of significant trends in total ozone. In the case of Reading changes in cloudiness possibly play a significant role [62], while for Sodankylä changes in surface albedo due to negative trends in snow cover in late winter and spring [162] may also be important as has been also discussed in previous studies [56]. It is quite Negative trends of the 307.5 nm irradiance of about −7% and −5%, have been found for Reading and Sodankylä respectively (significant only for Reading), despite the absence of significant trends in total ozone.…”