Where Climate Change Means Diminished Snowpacks, Water Supplies

Sindya N. Bhanoo reports on a new study lead by Justin S. Mankin, analyzing 421 drainage basins in the Northern Hemisphere that depend for models of how climate change might affect water supplies.

Worldwide, the study's findings indicate that "97 basins, currently serving two billion people, depend heavily on snowmelt. The scientists calculated that the likelihood the basins would receive less snow in the coming century was 67 percent." The two basins most at risk in the United States are already experiencing historic droughts. According to the study, "[t]he most sensitive basins in the United States include those in Northern and Central California, and those of the Colorado and Rio Grande rivers."