The risk of late frost increasingly likely due to global warming

At the beginning of April 2021, an episode of late frost devastated many crops in France. This freeze came after record temperatures recorded in March. According to a recent study, with warmer winters now, the growing season is unfolding earlier in the year and puts crops at increasing risk of late frost.

 

Between April 6 and 8, 2021, an episode of late frost devastated French cultures. In particular the vines and fruit trees. This frost came after record temperatures recorded in March and which had favored the emergence of vegetation. The freezing episode had devastating effects.

 

The World Weather Attribution network studied this frost episode in France, thanks to the collaboration of scientists from France, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. According to them this weather event can be linked to global warming. With winters now warmer, the growing season is unfolding earlier in the year and puts crops at increasing risk of late frost.

 

The growing season comes almost 15 days earlier than in the 1980s, according to these scientists. They point out that man-made global warming has made this freezing event 20 to 120% more problematic. In a climate with a global warming of 2 ° C (from the current level of global warming of around 1.2 ° C), growing frost episodes such as those seen in 2021 are expected to intensify further.