California’s snow drought is a recipe for danger

California is likely facing another year of water woes. The Sierra Nevada snowpack, which supplies up to a third of California’s water, is exceptionally meager this year. Experts found around half as much snow on the mountains as they typically would in early April, when the snowpack is historically most voluminous.

Not only does the dwindling snowpack put California’s water supply at risk, it also portends more floods, wildfires, and mudslides over the coming year. This is precisely what makes climate change so dangerous. Even small changes in weather can have cascading effects, multiplying the risk of natural disaster.

Declining snowfall means less fresh water
Climate change is depriving California of needed precipitation, and it is also causing more precipitation to come down as rain instead of snow. The result is that, over time, the Sierra Nevada see less and less snow, with consequences for the Golden State. Every spring and summer, that snow melts, feeding the streams and rivers that supply California’s reservoirs. Less snow means less water for farms and cities. Making matters worse, warmer temperatures mean that snow melts in late spring and early summer, leading to shortages later in the year.

Read More at   https://www.popsci.com/california-snow-drought-climate-change#page-3

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