<p>Urban areas, where most snow clearing is done, are <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island" rel="nofollow noreferrer">heat islands</a> already, so it would be tough to disentangle the effect of clearing snow off roads.  Whitewashing black asphalt is one of the <a href="https://e360.yale.edu/features/can-we-turn-down-the-temperature-on-urban-heat-islands" rel="nofollow noreferrer">strategies being tried</a> to <a href="https://www.epa.gov/heat-islands/heat-island-cooling-strategies" rel="nofollow noreferrer">reduce the heat</a> effect in the summer, though, and black asphalt is <a href="https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/urban-heat-island2.htm" rel="nofollow noreferrer">seen as a big factor</a> in heat islands, so it seems reasonable that exposing black pavement in winter would also have some impact, but detailed studies so far have mostly focussed on deadly summer heat, not winter effects. </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2020-01-15T00:37:22.907Z
2020-01-15T00:37:22.907Z
arp
<p>Although snow clearance makes a theoretical difference to climate change by reducing the amount of solar radiation reflected, the difference to average temperatures is negligible, so small as to be unmeasurable. In most cases the snow would melt within a few weeks anyway, so clearance makes no practical difference to global warming.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-09T21:51:58.897Z
Can you please add some evidence or references to back up your statements? After all you expect for your own questions "an accurate estimate, not just a wild guess which anybody could make." (https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/17733/how-to-obtain-an-accurate-estimate-for-the-pressure-of-a-putative-h2-and-he4-pri) so it should be fair that you provide the same
samcarter_is_at_topanswers.xyz
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-10T02:27:41.977Z
[Quora. What percentage of land area in the world is covered with pavement?](https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-land-area-in-the-world-is-covered-with-pavement) 0.15%
Keith McClary
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-12T05:11:40.490Z
Areas between 35 south latitude and 30 north latitude hardly ever get snow. Snow is so infrequent in those locales that many of those places do not have **any** snow removal equipment whatsoever.
David Hammen
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-12T08:11:12.953Z
In UK snow near sea level seldom lasts more than 10 days and some years we get none at all.
Michael Walsby
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-09T18:31:46.673Z
2019-10-09T18:31:46.673Z
Michael Walsby
<p>I've been reflecting on climate change and pondering how much of it is truly man-made. Anyone who's shoveled a walkway know that the snow melts faster beside the walkway than it does in the middle of your yard. This is because you've exposed the ground which can absorb the sun's heat. Whereas the snow in the yard reflects it. </p>

<p>The same is true of glaciers: They melt away from rock faces (ie, terminal morrains, bergschrunds, etc.), and as more of the Earth's surface is exposed, the more heat the surface of the Earth can absorb, and the faster the rest of the Earth's ice can melt. </p>

<p>Consider the combined surface area of all the roads and parking lots that are cleared of snow each winter (as well as the increased number of roads and parking lots which capture a lot of heat each year). Snow clearing to the scale as is seen in recent decades far exceeds what has been accomplished in the past. Even as recently as the early 20th century people still made their way around on top of the snow in sleighs.</p>

<p>How much of a contributor to climate change can be attributed simply to roads and the relatively modern practice of snow removal?  </p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-10T04:25:29.767Z
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02723646.2016.1242351
f.thorpe
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-10T17:42:13.377Z
@farrenthorpe Are you able to summarize the conclusion of that study?
ShemSeger
CC BY-SA 4.0
2019-10-11T03:24:36.287Z
It mentions that clearing snow does contribute a small measurable  amount to the urban heat island effect.  However, the contribution of the urban heat island effect to global climate change is quite small.
f.thorpe
<climate-change>
Does clearing snow contribute to climate change?
ShemSeger
# Does clearing snow contribute to climate change?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2019-10-09)

I've been reflecting on climate change and pondering how much of it is truly man-made. Anyone who's shoveled a walkway know that the snow melts faster beside the walkway than it does in the middle of your yard. This is because you've exposed the ground which can absorb the sun's heat. Whereas the snow in the yard reflects it.

The same is true of glaciers: They melt away from rock faces (ie, terminal morrains, bergschrunds, etc.), and as more of the Earth's surface is exposed, the more heat the surface of the Earth can absorb, and the faster the rest of the Earth's ice can melt.

Consider the combined surface area of all the roads and parking lots that are cleared of snow each winter (as well as the increased number of roads and parking lots which capture a lot of heat each year). Snow clearing to the scale as is seen in recent decades far exceeds what has been accomplished in the past. Even as recently as the early 20th century people still made their way around on top of the snow in sleighs.

How much of a contributor to climate change can be attributed simply to roads and the relatively modern practice of snow removal?

**Tags:** climate-change

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/02723646.2016.1242351  
> **username_0**: @farrenthorpe Are you able to summarize the conclusion of that study?  
> **username_1**: It mentions that clearing snow does contribute a small measurable  amount to the urban heat island effect.  However, the contribution of the urban heat island effect to global climate change is quite small.  

---

## 2 answers

### Answer by username_2 on 2020-01-15. Score: 3

Urban areas, where most snow clearing is done, are [heat islands](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urban_heat_island) already, so it would be tough to disentangle the effect of clearing snow off roads. Whitewashing black asphalt is one of the [strategies being tried](https://e360.yale.edu/features/can-we-turn-down-the-temperature-on-urban-heat-islands) to [reduce the heat](https://www.epa.gov/heat-islands/heat-island-cooling-strategies) effect in the summer, though, and black asphalt is [seen as a big factor](https://science.howstuffworks.com/environmental/green-science/urban-heat-island2.htm) in heat islands, so it seems reasonable that exposing black pavement in winter would also have some impact, but detailed studies so far have mostly focussed on deadly summer heat, not winter effects.


---

### Answer by username_3 on 2019-10-09. Score: -1

Although snow clearance makes a theoretical difference to climate change by reducing the amount of solar radiation reflected, the difference to average temperatures is negligible, so small as to be unmeasurable. In most cases the snow would melt within a few weeks anyway, so clearance makes no practical difference to global warming.

> **Comments:**
> **username_4**: Can you please add some evidence or references to back up your statements? After all you expect for your own questions "an accurate estimate, not just a wild guess which anybody could make." (https://earthscience.stackexchange.com/questions/17733/how-to-obtain-an-accurate-estimate-for-the-pressure-of-a-putative-h2-and-he4-pri) so it should be fair that you provide the same  
> **username_5**: [Quora. What percentage of land area in the world is covered with pavement?](https://www.quora.com/What-percentage-of-land-area-in-the-world-is-covered-with-pavement) 0.15%  
> **username_6**: Areas between 35 south latitude and 30 north latitude hardly ever get snow. Snow is so infrequent in those locales that many of those places do not have **any** snow removal equipment whatsoever.  
> **username_3**: In UK snow near sea level seldom lasts more than 10 days and some years we get none at all.  

---

