Cold weather can cause meibomian glands to become plugged, leading to bacterial buildup along the eyelid margin and inflammation, which further reduces tear production.

“colder weather like all like uh the secretions like the meibomian the sebaceous glands in your skin respond better to sunlight to heat in a cold environment those can become plugged up and bacteria can build up along the eyelid margin causing inflammation and when there's inflammation the the the lacrimal gland shuts down even more”