Missing Snow in London

As I’ve grown older, I’ve realised that the days of missing school and playing in the snow have slowly disappeared. And that’s not just because I’m not a child anymore, it’s because snow days in the UK (particularly London and the south) have become far more scarce, especially during the holiday season in December. When there’s no snow outside, like a lot of people when it gets colder, I find myself seeking entertainment from a similar array of comfort movies. One of the main things that connects these films is the use of snow as a romantic or joyful motif. As a child, these films were magical, and the idea of a white Christmas or any sort of snow was exciting and a very real possibility. Now, when I’m still watching these films, I’ve found I’m not only watching them for their magic and comfort, but also it seems to be the only way I can experience snow and its enchanting capabilities.

Now I can’t actually say how snow truly affects us in our actual lives. But the magic it creates in films is undeniable. I’ve chosen a few examples which highlight how romance and joy are represented in films set in snow and compared them with pictures I’ve taken in February this year.

Bridget Jones Diary

The ending of Bridget Jones' Diary gives Bridget Jones a happy ending (for this film in the series at least), with the settled snow contributing to the moment.

Last Christmas

In Last Christmas, a similarly romantic film, Emilia Clarke’s character Kate shares a more touching moment with her love interest, Tom. Without the frost and snow, there isn’t as much of an enchanting atmosphere in the Phoenix Garden where the scene was shot.

Paddington

By contrast, Paddington concludes its story joyfully, with the Brown family having a snowball fight on the street where they live.

Love Actually

One of the main winter activities to enjoy in London is to go ice skating. Most of these temporary ice rinks are only up in December, though they usually come down shortly into January.

Separate from disappointment at the lack of snow in recent years, I do feel concern for the change in the weather. Luckily, around the world, global warming is a concern for many. Esri, a geographic science and geospatial analytics company, aims to build a sustainable world. They have an interactive snow day map that provides an average number of snow days per year for a specific area of the UK.

This is calculated using data from 1991 to 2020, with a snow day defined as when over 50% of the ground is covered with snow. The average for London was 3.362 days. With only three days a year when over half of London has settled snow, there does seem to be an over-representation of snow in the capital. And I’m afraid the average will only get lower as the climate continues to change. For now, when there is a snow day, the collective joy remains the same, but it’s a shame we can’t experience it more often. After all, there's only so many times I can rewatch these films.