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A cordyline plant covered in what is thought to be ‘industrial snowfall’.
Photograph: Julian Mayes
A cordyline plant covered in what is thought to be ‘industrial snowfall’.
Photograph: Julian Mayes
Air pollution



RARE ‘INDUSTRIAL SNOWFALL’ THOUGHT TO BE CAUSED BY POLLUTION RECORDED IN UK

Phenomenon whereby moisture condenses around particles of pollution was noticed
near Heathrow in January



Chris Baraniuk
Wed 20 Dec 2023 09.00 ESTLast modified on Wed 20 Dec 2023 21.31 EST
 * 
 * 
 * 



A rare phenomenon known as “industrial snowfall” appears to have occurred near
Heathrow airport earlier this year, according to a study.

Satellite imagery shows three large, white bands on the ground in parts of
Surrey despite relatively dry conditions in the area at the time. The snow,
which was recorded on 23 January, was distributed near industrial facilities
south-east of Heathrow airport.



The “only real explanation” was that pollution triggered the snowfall, said Dr
Julian Mayes, an independent weather and climate consultant who saw the snow and
authored the study.

Anthropogenic or industrial snowfall can occur when moisture in the air
condenses around tiny particles of pollution, for example, forming snowflakes.
Conditions must be just right, with sufficiently low temperatures and an
abundance of moisture in the atmosphere. Only a handful of cases have been
reported in the UK.

“It started with what looked like a frosty morning,” said Mayes, who recalled
how freezing fog had enshrouded the village of West Molesey, Surrey, where he
lives. “It dawned on me that this was more than frost.”


A snowy street in West Molesey on 23 January 2023. Photograph: Julian Mayes

Upon closer inspection, he realised that the snow was very dry, like “desiccated
coconut”, and – unlike frost – it appeared to have been deposited on to surfaces
from above. This was initially baffling, Mayes said, because the area was under
a ridge of high pressure and there was little if any precipitation expected at
the time.

A colleague alerted him to a satellite image of eastern Surrey, taken on the
morning of 23 January, which revealed three bands of what looked like light
snowfall. Mayes hypothesised that a gentle wind had pushed the industrial snow
north-northwest, depositing it along these tracks.

The satellite image also showed a small amount of passing cloud. However, it was
“really unlikely” that the snow had been formed by clouds in the more typical
manner, said Prof Giles Harrison, of the meteorology department at the
University of Reading, who was not involved in the work. For regular snow to
have fallen, a weather front would have had to progress through the area, and
there was no evidence of this.

Mayes said other factors besides industrial pollution from ground sources could
have influenced events that day. These include potential ice trails left in the
wake of planes flying in and out of the airport. Moisture from nearby reservoirs
might also have had an effect.



But, he added, the evidence pointed towards something prompting water droplets
in the fog to enlarge and freeze, becoming snowflakes. Pollution is thought to
have provided footholds, or nucleation sites, allowing the droplets to form ice
crystals.

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“It’s fairly special,” said Harrison, who co-authored a 2009 study on some
earlier reports of industrial snowfall in the UK. Among these was an occurrence
associated with emissions from a cider works. A local person was quoted in the
study as having said: “There was a dusting of snow, and the snow had a hint of
apple flavour.”

Industrial snowfall was not typically forecast, which is why it could surprise
observers, added Harrison.

The phenomenon has also been reported in the US. One case in 2014 in Amarillo,
Texas, was blamed on steam from large power plants, which is thought to have
turned to snow in the cold February air. “The folks who work at the plants have
noticed it for years,” a local energy firm’s spokesperson told the Amarillo
Globe-News at the time.

This unusual form of snow would probably become rarer still in the UK, said
Harrison, as average temperatures are expected to continue rising due to global
heating.

Mayes added that his witnessing the phenomenon was “absolute chance”, given that
the snowfall was so localised. “If I’d lived a mile and a half away, I probably
wouldn’t have noticed it,” he said.

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