SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) -- A new study predicts that rising temperatures will increase the risk of drought and wildfires, threatening the state’s water supply.
The study, by Purdue University researcher Noah Diffenbaugh, finds California’s snowpack is threatened by the warming of the atmosphere.
“This is because as the snow melts, and disappears, the warming of the surface, the ground and the vegetation, is accelerated,” said Diffenbaugh.
It's the same global warming phenomenon, causing arctic sea ice to melt faster. He predicts spring snowmelt could start melting as much as two months earlier certain in parts of the west by the end of the century.
“If more snow were to fall as rain, or if the snow were to melt earlier in the year, then the populations the large agricultural systems would not be able to rely on that natural reservoir,” said Diffenbaugh.
The research examines snowpack in the mountainous West, including the Cascades, Rockies and the Sierra.
The report will be published in the Geophysical Research letters.
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KCBS' Margie Shafer reports
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