Leaner snowpack in Western Canada and United States mountain ranges is causing drier summers and increasing wildfire risk, says a new study from the University of Colorado Boulder.
Lead author Kate Hale said her team analyzed mountain snow data and found snowpack water storage decreased more than 25 per cent from 1950 to 2013. This, she said, can be attributed to earlier snowmelt, less snowfall and more rain.
Such a shift in snowmelt may pose challenges for residents as much of the infrastructure in these regions were designed to adapt to when water becomes available, Hale said. “We rely on hydroelectric power as a major source to power our businesses, our homes and our schools, and the hydroelectric power is generally fed from the glacier, which fills our reservoirs,” she said in an interview.
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