[NASA] Winter Grips Japan

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3. Winter Grips Japan

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February 5, 2026

Northern Japan, especially the island of Hokkaido, is home to some of the snowiest cities in the world.

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, the island’s largest city and host of an

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, typically sees more than

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of snowfall, with nearly 6 meters (20 feet) accumulating on average each year. The ski resorts surrounding the city delight in the

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powdery “

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” snow that often falls when frigid air from Siberia flows across the relatively warm waters of the Sea of Japan.

However, despite the region’s familiarity with heavy snowfall, winter 2026 got off to a disruptive start. A series of intense storms in January and February repeatedly

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, closing airports, snarling roadways, and suspending trains. Following storms that dropped more than 2 meters (7 feet) of snow in Aomori, a city on the island of Honshu just south of Hokkaido (out of frame), authorities deployed troops to help clear roofs, according to

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. The snow has caused dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries, according to Japan’s Fire and Disaster Management Agency.

On February 5, 2026, the

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(Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer) on NASA’s

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satellite acquired this image of snow-covered landscapes across Hokkaido. With more than

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, the island features several large caldera lakes, including at least five that are visible in the image. (

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are large depressions formed by volcanic eruptions.) In the east, forested windbreaks around Nakashibetsu form a

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, while to the north, swirls of drifting sea ice adorn the Sea of Okhotsk.

The Sea of Okhotsk is the southernmost sea that routinely hosts large amounts of sea ice. Although this winter brought unusually cold weather, long-term observations indicate that the amount of ice observed there each year has declined significantly in recent decades. One

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noted a 3.4 percent per decade decline in the maximum extent of its winter sea ice since the 1970s. These changes could have implications for the region’s marine ecosystems, which are known for being highly productive and producing

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each spring after the ice melts. 

Disruptive snowstorms are also striking elsewhere in Japan. In February, a storm blanketed western Japan in snow, leading to

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and the

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of some polling stations during national elections.  

NASA Earth Observatory image by Michala Garrison, using MODIS data from NASA 

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 and 

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. Story by Adam Voiland.

Downloads

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February 5, 2026

JPEG (2.46 MB)

References & Resources

• AccuWeather (2026, February 3)
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  . Accessed February 9, 2026.
• Associated Press (2026, February 4)
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  . Accessed February 9, 2026.
• The Japan Times (2026, February 4)
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  . Accessed February 9, 2026.
• The Mainichi (2026, January 26)
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  . Accessed February 9, 2026.
• Narita, D. & Iwasaki, S. (2026)
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  . Journal of Marine Science and Engineering, 14(1), 52.
• The New York Times (2026, February 8)
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  . Accessed February 9, 2026.
• NHK World Japan (2026, February 8)
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  . Accessed February 9, 2026.
• Skiing Hokkaido (2013)
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  . Accessed February 9, 2026.
• Steenburgh, W.J. & Nakai, S. (2020)
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  Bulletin of the American Meteorological Society, 101(1), E58-E72.
• World Meteorological Organization (2026, February 3)
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  . Accessed February 9, 2026.

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