Milano – Thirteenth January 1985. Forty years ago, like today, the streets began to turn white. It was the beginning of what still stands today as the historic snowfall. Ninety centimeters in Milan, over one meter in Sondrio and Varese. Brescia, Lecco and the cities of half of Lombardy were covered by a white blanket never seen before before (nor after). The snow continued to fall for three and a half days: it was paralysis. An exceptional phenomenon, witnessed by newspaper reports, books, musical pieces (Zero by Bluvertigo). And from black and white photos that tell of an even more distant past than time tells us in light of the scientific data of the last thirty years.
“In 1985 – he explains Matteo Zanetti, meteorologist of Arpa Lombardia, the Regional Environmental Protection Agency – there was an outbreak of cold air from the north-eastern European area (Russia and Scandinavia). Subsequently, a disturbance passed from the Atlantic area. For it to snow with significant accumulations in the Po Valley, this scenario must be configured: very cold in the lower layers of the atmosphere, close to the ground, moist air sliding in from the Mediterranean. In 1985 and in the previous decades these conditions were frequent, now they are less so.”
Matteo Zanetti, Arpa meteorologist
The last time it happened was in 2006 (January 27): “It snowed for a day and a half unlike three days in 1985, we reached 50 centimeters with a surprising speed.” Then the temperature rose and the snow gave way to rain, limiting the inconvenience. “In the last 30-40 years our meteorological stations present in Lombardy have detected an increase of half a degree every ten years in the winter seasons – reveals Zanetti –. Siberian outbreaks of freezing air are less frequent. Conditions like those of 1985 become less likely. We cannot exclude them, however, because they fit perfectly into the characteristics of our climate”. Which, however, is changing.
“Temperature is an easily detectable parameter, objective and homogeneous – underlines the Arpa meteorologist –. There are small differences between neighboring areas. In the last 40 years it has been warmer, with 0.8 degrees more per decade: there is a warming trend, which in the Alpine and pre-Alpine belt of the region is even more accentuated than in the plains. Furthermore, the last three years have been milder, although we cannot yet speak of an acceleration of climate change as the period is too short.”
From the snowfall of the century to today, the other significant change concerns precipitation. “Unlike temperatures – specifies Zanetti – there is no univocal variation. In the last three years we have experienced the driest season (2022) and the rainiest season (2024), the second from 1991 to today in Lombardy. In this case , climate change can lead to the opposite extreme conditions even in a short time, however, in a warmer world there is more water in the form of water vapor which, if condensed, ensures a greater potential for precipitation.”
Maurizio Maugeri, climatologist and full professor at the University of Milan (Department of Environmental Sciences and Policies), warns, however, of a danger linked to climate change: “The indications are for a stable trend in precipitation, but this does not mean that water resources will not change. We will have less during the warm season due to less snow accumulation in the mountains and more in the winter season, in waterways. The explosive trend of temperatures verified in recent decades is destined to continue at least in the medium term, while the future will depend on how much we are able to reduce the emissions that contribute to altering the climate. If we are good, the rate at which temperatures rise will slow down, otherwise it will continue.” The 1985 snowfall is safe. It will hardly be covered by a new record.
Maurizio Maugeri, State University of Milan
