A new study - highlighted in The Globe and Mail - reveals the impact that climate change has played on snowpack across the Northern Hemisphere, and the accelerating shift toward an increasingly snowless future. The implications for regional hydrology are not uniform across Canada or any other nation (some regions may experience more snowpack, others less), but it is clear that changing snowpack dynamics will certainly result in changes to the overall behaviour of hydrologic systems and exacerbate water resources vulnerability in the coming decades.

A new article in Global News sounds the warning call for water resources managers in Alberta, which seems set to experience yet another year of unprecedented drought. The article highlights the many knock on effects that limited snowpack over the winter months can cause later in the year. From dwindling potable water supplies and restrictions on acceptable water use in communities, to increasing wildfire risk, crop failure and shrinking cattle herds, our changing climate is wreaking havoc on all aspects of society.

“Less snow falling from the sky also means less snow piling up into snowpack — a deep, persistent cover of snow that accumulates during the winter. It is crucial for water supplies because it acts like a natural reservoir, storing water as snow during wet times and then releasing it in the form of snowmelt when water is harder to come by, University of Washington environmental engineering professor Jessica Lundquist told CNN.”