Greenland is the world’s largest island, with approximately 80% of its land covered by the immense Greenland Ice Sheet. This massive frozen landscape fundamentally shapes the country’s climate. While the persistent presence of ice leads to the assumption that Greenland receives enormous amounts of snow, understanding the true nature of the snow requires looking closely at the paradoxical climate dynamics that govern this Arctic region.
The Nature of Greenland’s Snowfall
The central plateau of Greenland paradoxically receives very little annual precipitation, classifying much of the interior as a polar desert. Inland areas can receive the water equivalent of less than 200 millimeters of snow annually. In the far northern regions, this annual precipitation can drop to the equivalent of only 50 millimeters, resulting in extremely dry, powdery snow.
The snow that does fall is frequently moved and redistributed by powerful winds. Strong katabatic winds—cold, dense air masses that flow down the slopes of the ice sheet—drive intense blizzards. These winds sculpt the dry snow into hard-packed drifts called sastrugi, making the landscape harsh and windswept. Rapid weather changes are common as low-pressure systems move eastward, often resulting in sudden, blinding snowstorms.
Distinguishing Annual Snow from the Ice Sheet
The massive Greenland Ice Sheet (GIS) is not a simple pile of annual snow, but rather a colossal, ancient reservoir of ice up to 3,000 meters thick. This permanent ice mass is sustained through a long-term net balance where new accumulation generally outweighs overall loss. The interior, known as the accumulation zone, is where snowfall compacts into firn and then solid ice over centuries, maintaining the sheet’s dome shape.
The periphery of the ice sheet is the ablation zone, where melting and calving glaciers remove ice mass. The mass balance has been shifting in recent decades, with increased loss due to a rise in surface melt and glacier discharge. A larger percentage of precipitation is now falling as rain instead of snow, particularly at lower elevations. This rain accelerates melting and contributes to the overall loss of ice mass.
Annual precipitation across the entire ice sheet averages around 31.2 grams per square centimeter, but this is distributed unevenly. The highest snowfall is concentrated in the storm-prone southeast and southwest coasts, where annual totals can reach the equivalent of 1,900 millimeters of water. This heavy coastal accumulation is a major contributor to the overall volume of the ice sheet, feeding the glaciers that flow to the sea.
Seasonal Patterns and Coastal Climate
The populated coastal areas of Greenland experience a much different climate than the frigid, high-altitude interior, which remains below freezing year-round. These ice-free fringes have a polar tundra climate with distinct seasonal variations. Winter is the primary season for significant snowfall in these maritime regions, characterized by storminess and high winds.
In the summer months, coastal temperatures rise, averaging between 5°C and 10°C, and can occasionally reach over 20°C in the innermost fjords of the south. This warmth is sufficient to cause the annual snow to melt completely near settlements. The southern coast is noticeably milder due to the influence of the Gulf Stream, which helps moderate winter temperatures compared to the northern coastal regions.