The snow was getting dirty, sidewalks were slippery and the handful of snowmen on campus were gradually losing body parts. Of course, I took tons of pictures, and proudly narrated my story of survival in the snow to my family back in India.

Given this experience, I feel for the international students who arrived this year. They are expressing disappointment every day and are inquisitive about the prospect of snowfall at all this year. It’s possible that the absence of snowfall this year made more people worry about climate change and global warming than any international protocol ever managed to do.

People all around me suddenly talked statistics, about when was the last time it started snowing only in February. There are even theories going around about the possible consequences of no/late snowfall for various animal species, and overall for the upcoming summer. Spreading knowledge is most welcome, yet there is a high possibility that the information is distorted when it goes around by word of mouth.

I’ve actually seen snow this season already. No, not in another country, nor from Mother Nature as well... It was man-made - an amazing exhibition of sculptures made of snow and ice in Zwolle, the Netherlands. Although it doesn’t compare to ‘real’ snowfall, it was a wonderful experience to watch the astonishing art on ice, perfect snow carvings that recreated legendary people, non-human figures and artifacts. It was also at this exhibition that I experienced the lowest temperature ever in my life. Given all the statistics and theories, I wonder how long we can keep moving forward if our progress is at the expense of nature’s natural behavior? Truth is, a business that depletes its non-renewable capital will never be able to sustain itself, no matter how profitable it is.