Cities That Depend on Snowmelt for Water Could Face Problems: Study

"A new study finds that when more precipitation falls as rain instead of snow, stream flows in drainage basins decline. This could complicate matters for areas that need snowmelt for water."

"Managing water resources in a changing climate may get more complicated for regions relying on melt from mountain snows.

A team of researchers has found preliminary evidence that when an increasing proportion of winter precipitation falls as rain, rather than snow, the amount of water flowing through drainage basins and into rivers in the US undergoes a long-term decline.

The study, published Sunday in the journal Nature Climate Change, estimates that for a increase of 2.4 degrees Celsius (4.3 degrees F.), increases in the proportion of rain falling at the expense of snow could lead to a decline of 12 percent or more in stream flows."

Pete Spotts reports for the Christian Science Monitor May 19, 2014.