Vox Sentences - Winter is losing its cool

On Tuesday, I started my workday as a steady rain fought through smoke-hazed skies. I live in a mountain town in western Colorado, a place that is usually pretty snowy in February. Rain and the smoke of a prescribed burn wouldn’t normally be something I’d expect during a time of year when I’m often looking forward to skiing in the hills in my neighborhood.

But we aren’t living in “normal” times, and those hills that I love so much have scant snow this year — my Nordic ski-loving dogs aren’t happy about it either! As the climate warms, winters are changing faster and in more alarming ways. According to reporting by our climate correspondent Umair Irfan, more than 200 towns and cities around the United States have lost almost two weeks of below-freezing nights in the past half century. By 2050, 23 states are projected to lose upward of a month of freezing days. 

And as our winters change, so do many aspects of our lives, which is why I appreciated Michael Venutolo-Mantovani’s recent story about what kids lose when climate change and virtual learning steal more of our already fleeting snow days. “If a snow day was announced, it was pure elation as we rushed to get our winter bibs and boots on to go out and play in the fresh snow, joining our friends and neighbors for sledding or snowballing or snowman building,” Michael, who is based in New York City, writes. “We’d return home after a few hours for hot chocolate and soup before putting on dry clothes and heading back out again.” 

His essay is a beautiful contemplation of how climate change causes a radical shift in childhood, the nature of play, and what’s missing from young lives when the experience of the magic of a snow day — something he likens to an endangered species — just doesn’t happen in some places anymore.

Michael’s essay does such an amazing job revealing a shared experience of much of our younger generation and got me thinking a lot about what other cultural shifts come as our winters warm.

This is a theme that Vox’s climate team has been hard at work exploring this week. I recommend spending time with all of the great stories that I’ve compiled for you here — and more from across our newsroom that help explain our complicated world. 

—Paige Vega, climate editor

2024 is already shattering heat records as temperatures soar around the world

So … gulp … winter heat waves are a thing. But thankfully, Vox’s Umair Irfan is here to explain how to make sense of them, and he breaks it down in this helpful contextualizer. And this winter heat wave is also wreaking havoc on the Texas and Oklahoma landscape: In our latest story, Umair explains how winter wildfires in Texas are to be expected — just never before at the scale we witnessed this week. 

This chart of ocean temperatures should really scare you

Attention, land dwellers! The Atlantic Ocean is freakishly hot right now, and scientists say that’s “deeply troubling.” This winter’s warm waters are one of the most alarming climate signals out there right now. Benji Jones, senior environment reporter, gives this important story the space it deserves and explains the larger stakes of the extreme temperature anomalies we’re observing. 

9 charts that show US factory farming is even bigger than you realize

I learned so much from this recent story from the dream team of Kenny Torrella and Marina Bolotnikova. If you care about the impact of the food you consume, you’ll be disturbed to learn about the chicken megalopolises that have radically transformed American eating in just a few generations. 

🎧 How scientists are searching for aliens

This week’s Unexplainable episode is a fun listen. Don’t miss it. Science writer Brian Resnick explores the hoaxes, the delusions, and the actual, serious, advanced science dedicated to answering one of the biggest questions there is: Are we alone? 

What kids lose without snow days 

Snow days are fleeting. Schools should let kids enjoy them! This great essay is both an explanation of why we shouldn’t force virtual learning on snow days and a contemplation of an aspect of childhood magic that we’re letting slip away. 

The less-than-magical Willy Wonka event, briefly explained

Speaking of childhood wonders, I really enjoyed this hilarious story from Li Zhou that briefly explains the less-than-magical Willy Wonka spectacle (ahem, fiasco) in Glasgow. The event's disappointing culinary spread, its sparse decor, and a cast of frightening new characters hardly created the “world of pure imagination” many kids’ parents signed up for. This one had me giggling.

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