River basins around the world that were once regularly snowbound are increasingly seeing their snowpack shrink and climate change is to blame, a new study found. “Many of the world’s most populous basins are hovering on the precipice of rapid snow declines,” concluded the study of snow amounts since 1981 in Wednesday’s journal Nature. … This latest research examined snowpack, a more encompassing measurement that includes depth and amount, at its general peak in March. Spring snowpack is critical for delivering a steady supply of drinking and irrigation water to billions of people, with bigger and earlier melts causing problems. … A good example of shrinking snowpack is the upper reaches of the Colorado River basin in Colorado and parts of Wyoming.

Related articles: 

• Los Angeles Times: Spring snowpack has shrunk significantly over the last 40 years due to warming
• The New York Times: Climate change is driving a sharp drop in snow levels, study finds
• Washington Post: We’re in danger of falling off a ‘snow loss cliff.’ Here’s what that means.
• Bloomberg: World nears dangerous climate tipping point with snow in short supply
• TIME: Blame climate change for the world’s shrinking snowpack