Water

Global warming, by raising sea level, altering the timing of winter snows and spring rains, and by reducing glaciers and snow packs, will cause water stress and other problems that will impact millions of people around the world. As sea levels rise, we can expect coastal freshwater supplies to be tainted with salt. More water will fall in the form of rain rather than snow and snow will melt earlier, disrupting the timing of water availability. This will pose a serious threat to many cities, states and farming communities. Regions dependent on snow-fed and glacier water supplies will be especially threatened. In a new study, researchers at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography warn that “once glaciers have melted in a warmer world, there will be no replacement for the water they now provide”.

Qori Kalis Glacier, Quelccaya Ice Cap, Peru, between 1978 and 2002 the glacier retreated 1,100 meters.
Photo credit: Professor L. Thompson