No Snow on Christmas Again
The city of Denver experienced its first notable snowfall on November 29, 2025, marking the second latest date for snow it has experienced. Even stranger, throughout the rest of fall and start of winter, Colorado experienced temperatures in the mid-70s with a high of 81 degrees Fahrenheit in Campo, a city near Oklahoma. During the later months of the year, Colorado experiences average temperatures of sub-53 ° weather, which is why having temperatures as high as 81 ° is unusual. But why is Colorado experiencing such a warm winter, and what can individuals do to help?
There are a few reasons why Colorado is experiencing a winter heat wave, most of which revolve around our changing climate. Global mean temperatures have drastically gone up over the past 200 years due to industrialization and the burning of fossil fuels.
To understand the science behind this unusually warm weather event and the greater contribution it has to global warming, we have to start at the source. The burning of fossil fuels and the release of greenhouse gases like carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs), and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) can all be attributed. To fully gauge the participation of each of these gases, they have to be broken down individually. Carbon monoxide is not known to be a particularly strong greenhouse gas, but it still contributes to the rise of methane gas, another potent greenhouse gas that worsens global warming. Carbon dioxide is produced from anthropogenic developments, such as industrialization, and naturally occurring processes. It traps heat within its molecules, amplifying the trapping of heat near Earth’s surface or better known as the greenhouse effect. However, lesser-known gases and molecules, such as chlorofluorocarbons and VOCs, can be particularly dangerous in the breakdown of ozone. When most people think of ozone, they think of the layer that protects the Earth from the sun, which is partially correct. However, ozone is composed of the molecule O3, which is the fusion of three oxygen atoms. When chlorofluorocarbons are released into the atmosphere, they work with UV radiation to break down a chlorine atom from the chlorofluorocarbon molecule. Then, that chlorine is used to transform O3 into a chlorine monoxide molecule and an oxygen atom. Then, once chlorine monoxide is bonded with a single oxygen atom, the product is a single chlorine atom and free oxygen. The reason this product is so dangerous is that the chlorine atom can be reused to break down even more ozone. Yet, without ozone, exposure to harmful UV rays would destroy our food systems, degrade certain materials like plastic, and become carcinogenic to humans and animals.
The group of gases called VOCs includes a variety of organic chemicals that have above average vapor pressure and easily transform into gaseous substances. VOCs can come from paints, cleaning products, air fresheners, and even furniture. These compounds can be harmful to our atmosphere, because their reaction with sunlight and nitrogen oxides forms ground-level ozone, or smog, another major air pollutant. Now, while the scientific details can be confusing and overwhelming, these small gases create a ripple effect in our changing environment and can create a hotter and more dangerous future. Gearing our focus to the big picture of a snowless Colorado landscape can help us understand why these meticulous details matter.
While minimal precipitation is not particularly unusual, the lack of snowpack is. Normally, the Denver metropolitan area has not had much snow around the holidays, but a notable difference between this year and years past is the record-high temperatures. High temperatures due to the aforementioned greenhouse gases not only melt the snow, but they can also prevent it from freezing. Because the atmosphere is getting warmer, the precipitation is starting to result in rain rather than snowfall. Additionally, on the rare occasions snow does fall, it melts within the first 48 hours because of high ground temperatures.
While some people enjoy this warmer, autumn-like weather, it can be particularly harmful to local Colorado residents and others around the country. Colorado’s residents and people who rely on the mountain spring water are most impacted. Snowpack is essential for the spring water runoff into reservoirs and lakes to supply water for the rest of the year. Despite the seemingly innocent nature of this recent extreme weather event, obscurities in atmospheric conditions like this can indicate deeper-rooted issues in human activities and their ramifications.
As our world continues to advance, it can be challenging to remain eco-conscious and make sustainable choices relative to our lifestyles. Still, we can make individual changes to resist the effects of global warming. While some actions may seem more “out of the way” than others, like taking the bus, many changes can be simple and instantaneous, like using natural cleaning products or aerosol sprays instead of products that contain VOCs and CFCs. Sustainability is not about changing your lifestyle to be as waste-free and eco-friendly as possible, but rather about implementing reasonable changes that will last and keep your way of life suitable for your needs. Although choosing an environmentally friendly substitute for your daily products may not bring more snow to Colorado, it is the knowledge of our global relationship with climate change, the methods of spreading the word, and encouraging action that can bring more attention to environmental issues like these.