Decline in Alps Snowpack Unprecedented for at Least Six Centuries

Nature Climate Change, 12 January 2022

Researchers in the European Alps can use juniper shrubs to reconstruct snow conditions from hundreds of years ago, providing centuries of data in a scientific field where direct snowpack measurements have only been carried out for a few decades. Juniper shrubs live close to the ground and their growth depends on how much snow rests around them. The pattern of “growth rings” in their branches produces a seasonal record of past snowfall and accumulation. This study finds that the duration of snow cover in the Alps has shortened by more than a month in the last century. Furthermore, snow depth is rapidly decreasing by one-tenth per decade, reaching rates that haven’t been observed in more than six centuries. Glaciers and snowpack serve as a water storage reservoir, providing freshwater to downstream communities during the dry and hot seasons. The Alps are the most important water-supplying mountain range in Europe, supporting the Danube, Rhine, Rhône and Po drainage basins as well as downstream agricultural and industrial sectors. These findings highlight the urgent need to reduce emissions and develop adaptation strategies to protect vulnerable communities from the cascading consequences of snow and ice loss; not just in high-elevation areas, but also on downstream regions.

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-022-01575-3