© University of Maine Climate ReanalyzerTemperature difference from normal over Europe early on the morning of April 4.
The unseasonably cold weather, which arrived over the weekend, follows warmer-than-normal temperatures in previous weeks that caused a rapid greening of flora — particularly in France's agricultural regions.
"It's still difficult to evaluate the [damage] caused by the frost, but orchards ('stone fruits' such as plum trees, apricot, cherry) and vineyards have been impacted," Jean-Marc Touzard, director of research at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE), said in an email.
Climate scientists are concerned that warming late-winter and early-spring temperatures are increasing the frequency of "false springs," which spur earlier vegetation green-up before the threat has passed of frigid temperatures that can wipe out young, vulnerable plants.
© Valentine ChapuisBuds on an apple tree are enclosed in ice after being sprayed with water in an orchard in Montauban, France, on April 4. The water-spraying method covers the blossoms and buds in a protective layer of ice, shielding them from wind and cold.
Guillaume Séchet, a French meteorologist, tweeted that April 1 to 3 were the coldest first three days of April in the country since at least 1930.
Maximiliano Herrera, a climatologist who tracks international weather extremes, tweeted that freezing temperatures and record cold also were observed in Germany, Spain and Austria.
Weather maps showed a sprawling region of unseasonably cold conditions from Portugal to western Russia. The biggest temperature differences from normal were centered between Spain and Germany, with France hit hardest.
Warm winter conditions probably made crops more vulnerable to frost. In Germany, winter was warmer than normal and recorded nearly 20 more frost-free days than in an average year. According to the European Commission's monthly crop monitoring bulletin, "Frost tolerance is rather weak, making crops susceptible to freezing temperatures" in Germany.
In France, winter was around 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit (1 degree Celsius) above normal from February to mid-March.
Serge Zaka, an expert in climate and agriculture in France, said in a Twitter thread that the recent freezing weather is very damaging.
A second straight false spring in Europe
© Valentine ChapuisArborist Damien Garrigues inspects the blossoms and buds of his apple trees, which are covered with ice after being sprayed with water to protect them from freezing temperatures, in his orchard in Montauban, France, on April 4
The April cold snap in 2021 was devastating for French winegrowers, leading to $2.4 billion in damage, according to the Associated Press. Some vineyards lost 80 percent of their grapes.
However, the effects of the current cold wave in France may be less severe than in 2021 because of the timing and coverage, Touzard said. This year, the cold spell occurred a few days earlier, and vegetation growth, especially for vines, was less advanced. Many buds are still not open. The cold wave also seems to be less extensive, concentrated mainly in southwestern regions.
He also said winegrowers learned from last year's devastating freeze. Now they have better monitoring of the frostiest plots, and they pruned their vineyards later and put up more protection. Some French vintners are lighting large candles or using sprinklers to thaw grapevines.
© Jeff PachoudVineyards are lighted with candles to protect them from frost on April 4 around Puligny-Montrachet in France.
"It's part of the normal agricultural life to have frost events, but also we have the abnormal warmer winter temperature that increases the vulnerability of plants," Charrier said.
False springs have caused agricultural damage not only in Europe in recent years, but also in several parts of the United States.
"If those flower buds get hit by frost, they don't regenerate that spring, and they don't regenerate for the whole year," Theresa Crimmins, director of the USA National Phenology Network and a research professor at the University of Arizona, told The Washington Post in December. "There's been in recent years some really devastating impacts where we've had early warmth, followed by frosts and then total loss of crops."
A false spring in March 2012 was followed by an April freeze that resulted in a half-billion dollars in damage in Michigan. A false spring in 2017 and ensuing early-April frost resulted in $2 billion in economic damage in the Southeast.
A 2019 study of how spring frost damage to trees may change in Europe as the climate warms found that some sensitive species "will paradoxically experience more frost damage in the future warming climate."
(More here)
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