You step outside on a winter day, and the air smells crisp … clean … a bit woodsy … so good. It’s not your imagination. The air actually does smell fresher in winter. But what are you smelling? Does it have to do with the chilly temps? Is it because indoor air is so stuffy this time of year that stepping into an arctic blast feels good? Or is the blanket of white on the ground tricking your nose into thinking the air is as pure as, well, snow?
Wonder no more: We talked to experts in horticulture, weather patterns and mental health to find out what that “crisp winter air” smell actually is—and whether cold air has hidden benefits for our mind and body. Take a deep breath, settle in and read on.
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When does the air start to get a “winter” smell?
Outdoor air starts to smell cleaner as the temperatures dip into the 30s. “When the air is below 40 degrees, people find the air more refreshing,” says Chad Merrill, a senior meteorologist with AccuWeather in State College, Pennsylvania. Of course, your climate may have its own quirks, but generally, when temps get this low, the air smells fresher.
Why does winter air smell so good?
That classic winter-air scent comes from what we’re smelling and what we’re not smelling. Here are the science-backed reasons we love “eau de winter” air.
Low pressure and humidity have less of a funk
In winter, the humidity levels drop—and that’s a treat for your nose, as well as a study in contrasts. “ Most people think of lower humidity as more refreshing because it feels cleaner,” Merrill says. But when it comes to how the air actually smells, “the reason it smells better in winter is [because] in summertime, high pressure is over an area for an extended period of time.”
That high-pressure air just kind of sits there, and “combined with the very warm temperatures, this can create air pollution, where pollutants get trapped at the surface,” Merrill says. “So you can get more air-quality concerns in the summer.” And those concerns tend to smell.
Evergreens contain feel-good chemicals
There’s another reason that winter air smells so good. In low humidity, you can detect terpenes, which are naturally fragrant compounds in pines and other plants. “Evergreen terpenes, like pinene, also become especially prominent in cold air, as [does] wood smoke from fireplaces, which contains aromatic compounds people often perceive as cozy or nostalgic,” says Michael Clarke, a horticulturist and landscape architect in Los Angeles.
While evergreens give off their forest aroma year-round, they’re competing with everything else in bloom during the summer—plus a slew of other lovely and not-so-lovely scents, from damp earth to animal poop. But from December to February, most plants are dormant, “making evergreen notes stand out even more,” Clarke says. In other words, cold air makes that Christmas-tree smell really pop.
Why doesn’t winter always smell like this?
Cold air sometimes gets a bit funky too, depending on the weather. The idea that cold air always smells fantastic is one of those weather myths that sounds right but isn’t. “You can still get air-quality concerns in the wintertime with a stagnant air mass,” Merrill says. “It doesn’t happen as much in the winter as it does in summer because the jet stream in winter usually pushes things along, so you don’t get time to build up.”
Some areas of the country are more prone to this issue: Cities that are surrounded by mountains, like Salt Lake City, are more vulnerable to pollutants building up over time and year-round, he says.
Is that cold-air scent good for your health?
Yes. Any scent that reminds you of happy times is a plus for your mental health.
“Scents affect us so strongly because smell has a direct line to the areas of the brain that handle emotion and memory,” says Lisa Chen, a licensed therapist in Hermosa Beach, California. “The right scent can help a person calm down, feel more grounded or be more focused within seconds.” Because winter air is rich with the scent of fragrant pines, firs and cypress trees, it reminds us of nature, she adds, and “the smell of nature reduces our stress.”
There’s also a psychological component that goes beyond olfaction. “Crisp air signals a brain reset,” Chen says. “The sharp air can make us feel alert. Psychologically, we associate cold, clean air with clarity and new beginnings.” Maybe that’s why we sometimes feel a sense of possibility when we get outdoors on a bright and chilly winter day.
So is winter air healthier than summer air?
It’s tough to say if winter air is “healthier” than summer air. Extreme temperatures at both ends of the spectrum are hard on our bodies. Both freezing cold and hot, humid weather put a strain on our heart and lungs, according to the American Heart Association. That said, cold temps have an edge on one front, Merrill says. In winter, air masses move along faster than in summer, so pollutants generally don’t get trapped and muck up our air quality.
That means winter air doesn’t just smell fresh—it is fresh. Well, fresher than the air in August, anyway.
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Sources:
- Chad Merrill, senior meteorologist with AccuWeather in State College, Pennsylvania; phone interview, Nov. 18, 2025
- Lisa Chen, LMFT, licensed therapist in Hermosa Beach, California; email interview, Nov. 19, 2025
- Michael Clarke, Los Angeles-based landscape architect and founder of Yardwork; email interview, Nov. 17, 2025
- Scientific Reports: “Reduction of physiological stress by urban green space in a multisensory virtual experiment”
- American Heart Association: “What cold weather does to the body”
- Circulation Research: “Heat and Cardiovascular Mortality: An Epidemiological Perspective”
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