A new map tracks 30 years of extreme snowmelt in the US

Aug 15, 2021

The south fork of the American River flows with snowmelt near Strawberry, California in this March 2, 2009 file photo. Water raised leafy green Los Angeles from the desert and filled arid valleys with the nation's largest fruit and vegetable crop. Each time more water was needed, another megaproject was built, from dams of the major rivers to a canal stretching much of the length of the state.But those methods are near their end. There is very little water left untapped and global warming, the gradual increase of temperature as carbon dioxide and other gases retain more of the sun's heat, has created new uncertainties. To match feature WATER/ REUTERS/Max Whittaker/Files (UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENT ENERGY) - GM1E53A0MNW01

Extreme snowmelt can be deadly and destructive. Image: REUTERS/Max Whittaker/Files

Mikayla Mace

Science Writer, University of Arizona

Our Impact

The Big Picture

Explore and monitor how Future of the Environment is affecting economies, industries and global issues

A hand holding a looking glass by a lake

Crowdsource Innovation

Get involved with our crowdsourced digital platform to deliver impact at scale

Stay up to date:

Future of the Environment

Discover

What’s the World Economic Forum doing about climate change?

The map shows the greatest amount of snow loss over a two day period across the United States within a 30-year window. The largest snow loss, indicated by green and blue, occurs in the mountains of the western United States. Units are millimeters of snow mass lost per two days. Only pixels, which equate to 2.5 square miles each, with extreme snow loss (exceeding 50 mm per two days) are included.

The map shows the greatest amount of snow loss over a two day period across the United States within a 30-year window. Image: Josh Welty via The University of Arizona

Have you read?

Don't miss any update on this topic

Create a free account and access your personalized content collection with our latest publications and analyses.

License and Republishing

World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.