Climate Change Steals Billion Tons Of Water From Colorado River

"Declining snowpack is causing water supplies for the Colorado River to evaporate, new study finds"

"The Colorado River’s average annual flow has declined by nearly 20 percent compared to the last century, and researchers have identified one of the main culprits: climate change is causing mountain snowpack to disappear, leading to increased evaporation.

Up to half of the drop in the Colorado’s average annual flow since 2000 has been driven by warmer temperatures, four recent studies found. Now, two U.S. Geological Survey researchers have concluded that much of this climate-induced decline — amounting to 1.5 billion tons of missing water, equal to the annual water consumption of more than 10 million Americans — comes from the fact that the region’s snowpack is shrinking and melting earlier. Less snow means less heat is reflected from the sun, creating a feedback loop known as the albedo effect, they say.

“The Colorado River Basin loses progressively more water to evaporation, as its sunlight-reflecting snow mantle disappears,” write the authors, USGS senior resource scientist Chris Milly and physical scientist Krista A. Dunne."

Juliet Eilperin reports for the Washington Post February 20, 2020.

SEE ALSO:

"Rising Temperatures Are Taking A Worsening Toll On The Colorado River, Study Finds" (Arizona Republic)

"Colorado River Is in Danger of a Parched Future" (Scientific American)

"Climate Change Threatens Colorado River And the Water Supply for 40 Million People" (Weather Channel)

"New Study Projects Severe Water Shortages in the Colorado River Basin" (InsideClimate News)

"Climate Change Is Drying Up The Colorado River, Putting Millions At Risk Of 'Severe Water Shortages'" (CNN)