According to a new study conducted by scientists from Stanford University, global warming could reduce mountain snowpack in the Northern Hemisphere over the next century, threatening water supplies for drinking water and agricultural irrigation. The study, which was published in ‘Nature Climate Change’, analysed the impact of climate change on snowpack in the west of the United States, Alpine Europe, Central Asia and the Himalayas using different scenarios which encompass a rise in global temperatures between two and four degrees. The researchers concluded that there would be less snow accumulation in most regions. “We can infer that should these physical climate changes occur in the future, there would be impacts on water supply for agriculture and for human consumption and for natural ecosystems if the water storage and management systems are not adapted to those changes”, said Stanford University’s Climate Expert Noah Diffenbaugh who led the study. This could have negative effects, for example on agricultural production in California, the nation’s leading agricultural exporter, which is dependent on snowpack for crop irrigation. The study found that early spring snowmelt could lead to flooding and overflowing reservoirs in winter, while less water would be available in spring and summer, when water demand in agriculture is strongest. A lack of water later in the year could also worsen droughts, increase the number of insect pests and lead to species extinctions, both in the United States and elsewhere.