The Sierra Nevada snowpack is a key source of water for California.
Credit: Rich Pedroncelli/AP
The Sierra Nevada snowpack that is a critical water source for California fell to a 500-year low last winter – far worse than scientists had estimated and underlining the severity of the current drought, according to new research.
The snow accumulation in the mountains was just 5% of what is normal, inflating the risk of wildfires, drying up wells and orchards, and pushing communities into water rationing.
Scientists had earlier thought that the snow pack was the lowest in 100 years, after a winter that was the warmest on record. Now it turns out it was actually the lowest in five centuries, according to research published in Nature Climate Change on Monday.
“It was definitely a 500-year low. In the 500-year reconstruction, it was unprecedented,” said Valerie Trouet of the University of Arizona, who led the study. “When you are a climate scientist, first you get excited by the […]
This is a horrible situation for the west in general, especially California. They must now put all of their energy into desalinization to get what they need to survive. It is not going to be easy, but it is going to be very expensive. The nation needs to come to their rescue. The U.S. government must take money away from military spending and put it into this crisis, instead. If they do not, they would be considered immoral and incompetent. This may be the platform that wins the next election: protecting the U.S. from environmental disasters, instead of ruining other mid-eastern countries with stupid wars. I just hope the media “gets it”.