Scientists warn of a dry summer due to the lack of snow: In a new study, a team of researchers from Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands shows a link with drought – the trigger is climate change. According to experts, the lack of snow in winter last year increased the drought in summer.
“Today’s snow shortage is the drought of next summer and autumn,” climate scientist Manuela Brunner said in a broadcast from the Swiss Federal Institute for Forest, Snow and Landscape Research (WSL).
Plants suffer from the lack of melt water
A problem in the summer is the lack of snow due to the lack of melt water. Plants from grass to shrubs to trees suffer from this in the summer and fall. But the energy industry also needs to adapt to a changing level in its reservoirs, according to Tuesday’s statement.
To demonstrate this connection, Brunner’s research team examined how droughts have developed in Switzerland over the past 50 years. “In the period from 1994 to 2017, the number of droughts caused by snowmelt increased by 15 percent compared to the period from 1970 to 1993,” explains Brunner. The results were recently published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters.
Rising temperatures mean the snow line is rising
The reason for this is climate change. Due to the rising temperatures, the snow line is also rising. As a result, there is generally less snowfall. In addition, climate change exacerbates the drought problem with another aspect. As it gets hotter and warmer, more water evaporates and the soil and riverbeds dry out faster. According to the climate scientist, there is no change in sight: “The trend will continue in the future.”
Source: Krone
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