Declining snowfall is changing the seasonal patterns of streamflow throughout the Northern hemisphere boosting chances of water shortages in the summer, scientists have found.
Declining snowfall is changing the seasonal patterns of streamflow throughout the Northern hemisphere boosting chances of water shortages in the summer, scientists have found.
Snowy areas in in the Rocky Mountains of North America, the European Alps and northern Europe are thawing prematurely as the Earth warms. Additionally, seasonal flows in less snowy areas are delayed as warm-season rain arrives later in the year becoming a more dominant source of river flow. Precipitation over winter is reduced.
The findings, published in Nature, suggest a higher risk of summer droughts, which could adversely impact water and food security, ecosystem health, and hydropower generation.
Author Dr Ross Woods from the University of Bristol’s Faculty of Engineering explained: “Streamflow seasonality affects the temporal distribution of water resources and has wide-ranging implications for ecosystem functioning, food security, and natural hazard management.
Read more at University of Bristol
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