Climate change made this year’s snow drought in the Western U.S. four times more likely, new study finds
The severe snow drought that gripped the western United States in this past winter was made four times more likely by human-caused climate change, according to a new study led by researchers at Colorado School of Mines and published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS). In the Upper Colorado River Basin, a critical source of water for millions of people across the southwestern U.S., the study found that the snow drought was approximately 14 times more likely because of climate change. The study is among the first to apply modern climate attribution techniques to a large-scale snow drought event, quantifying the extent to which warming temperatures have increased the likelihood of dramatically reduced snowpack across the American West.
Other climate news around the West:
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography (UC San Diego): Underwater oxygen loss threatens earth’s stability, researchers warn
- Science Alert: A major ocean current is on the verge of collapse. Scientists say the effects may reach California
