Snow & Ice

1970-2012

Snowfall % Changes, 1973-2023

Mean annual northern hemisphere snow cover is 9.9 million square miles, or 25.6 million square kilometers The minimum is in August and the maximum in January.

The northern hemisphere snow cover fell 7% over 1967-2021.

Over 2000-2021, mean annual snow cover shrank 9% for Asia, 2-3% for North America, 10% for Europe, 17% for South America, 0% for Australia-New Zealand, and 17% for Africa.

Projection, from IPCC 5th Climate Assessment, Science Summary

Projection from IPCC 5th Climate Assessment, Science Summary.

1980-2100

Articles

Dreaming of Snow This Winter? Expect Less in the US. 1124 - Places and times cold enough for precipitation to fall as snow are fewer than were.

Historic Lack of Great Lakes Ice Leads to Fewer Fish and More Algae 0324

Kashmiris Suffer through a Dry Winter, Waiting for Snow. Blame Climate Change. 0124

World Nears Dangerous Climate Tipping Point, with Snow in Short Supply 0124

Study Shows Who’s Losing the Most Snow as Earth Warms 0124

Great Lakes Start 2024 with Smallest Amount of Ice in at Least 50 Years 0124

California Snowpack Lowest in Decade, despite Hope with December Storms 0124

Great Lakes Start 2024 with Smallest Amount of Ice in at Least 50 Years 0124

Study Shows Who’s Losing the Most Snow as Earth Warms 0124

World Nears Dangerous Climate Tipping Point, with Snow in Short Supply 0124

Great Lakes Start 2024 with Smallest Amount of Ice in at Least 50 Years 0124

Snowfall Is Becoming Rare in New York City, and Elsewhere 1223

New Maps Show Where Snowfall Is Disappearing 1123

Greater Snowfall Speeds the Melting of Arctic Tundra 0823 - It insulates the permafrost underneath it from the very cold air of winter, so that the permafrost thaws earlier or deeper in the warmer seasons.

What the Decline of Mountain Snow Cover Means for Canada 0423

California’s Record Snowpack, Nearly Full Reservoirs after Epic Winter 0323

Is California’s 12 Feet of Snow Enough to Ease the Drought? 0323

Antarctic Sea Ice Reaches Record Low - Be Concerned 0323

Burning Trees in the Amazon Melts Snow in the Himalayas 0123

Snow Pummels Western New York as Metro Buffalo Digs Out from Up to 6.7 Feet 1122

Water Resources to Become Less Predictable with Climate Change 0722

The End of Snow Threatens to Upend 76 Million American Lives 0822

Water Resources to Become Less Predictable with Climate Change 0722 - With warming, more preipitatuion falls as rain ande less as snow. Also, snow melts earlier in the spring, leaving less or none for summer.

As Planet Warms, Less Ice Is Covering North American Lakes 0322

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Climate Change May Be Fueling Increase in Major Northeast Snowstorms 0222

Record December Snow in West Brings Major Drought Relief, Hope for 2022 - 1221

Fires, Landslides, Lack of Snow - The Ski Industry Girds for Battle 1221

2021 Arctic Report Card Reveals Cascading Disruptions, Extreme Events, Global Connections 1221

Snow May Vanish for Years at a Time in Mountain West with Climate Warming 1221

Sierra Snowpack Could All but Disappear in 25 Years 1121

Snow Cover in Himachal Down by 18% in a Year 0821

Vast Wildfires in Siberia Linked to Warming Arctic 1220 - less snow, with a much warmer winter, leaves forests more vulnerable to fire

Less Snow Is the New Norm. That’s Trouble for Farmers. 1220

Climate-Driven Arctic Changes Are Interconnected, Says 2020 Report Card 1220

We’re 60 Years Too Late to Stop Global Warming, Sea Level Rises 1120 - Among other things, snow cover around the poles shrinks (especially melts earlier) as the climate warms. This allows Earth to absorb more sunlight, into the darker ground and plants beneath the snow. This increased energy, in part, heats the air above the ground, for still more sensible warming.

California Will Get So Hot That Mountain Streams Could Kill 0520

Climate Change May Diminish Big Snowstorms in the US 0520

Scientists Show How Much Less Snow We're Getting due to Climate Change 0520

As Yukon Snowpack Hits Near-Historic Low, Yukon Energy Looks beyond Hydro 0420

A Heat Wave in Antarctica Melted 20% of an Island's Snow in 9 Days 0220

Snow and Ice Loss Causing Arctic to Reflect Less Heat 1119

Less Snow & Ice Drive Reduced Arctic Surface Albedo since 1980s - 1119 - PDF

Chile Ski Stations Fight the Ravages of Climate Change with Snow Cannons 0819

'Snow Droughts' Are Coming for the American West 0819

Reduced Snow Pack Could Alter Crystal-Clear Mountain Lakes 1218

When Mountains Fall into the Sea 0518

Mountain Snowpack Shrinks to 66% of Normal, Feds Sound Drought Alarm 0418

Snowpack Has Drastically Declined in the West This Century 0318

It's Not Just High Temps Messing with Snow—It's Dust 0218

Is California's Drought Returning? Snowpack Nears 2015's Historic Lows 0218

Snowpack Near Record Lows Spells Trouble for Western Water Supplies 0118

Major Trend of More Snowfall Seen in Antarctica Could Counter Sea Level Rise 0118

How Climate Change Is Impacting the American West Right Now 1217

Western Water Crunch Has Climate Change Fingerprints 0417

Thick Ice Formations in Arctic Rivers Are Melting Earlier in Summer 0417

The World’s Snowiest Place Is Starting to Melt 0417

As Climate Warms, Sierra Snowpack, CA’s #1 Water Source, Gets Less Reliable 0317

Peculiar Tie between Warm Climate, Slow Snowmelt 0217 - Snowmelt starts earlier in year, when sun angle is lower.

Despite Gloomy California Snowpack Survey, State Water Officials Are Optimistic 0117

In the Polar Bear Capital of the World, the Snow Has Gone 1216

NH Snow Cover, Forcing & Feedbacks, as Function of Temperature - Chen et al. 0716 - PDF
[from abstract] "The anomalies in snow cover resulted in a weakened snow radiative forcing of 0.12 (±0.003) W m−2 and feedback of 0.21 (±0.005) W m−2 K−1, in melting season, over the NH, from 1982 to 2013."

Unabated Global Warming Threatens West's Snowpack, Water Supply 0616

Western U.S. Snowpack Melting At Record Speed 0516

Sierra Nevada Snow Won’t End California’s Thirst 0416

Meltdown - More Rain, Less Snow as the World Warms 0416

US East Coast Snowstorms Linked to Slowdown of Atlantic Current 0116

In Canada's Far North, Warm Weather Threatens Vital Ice Roads 1215

Dry, Warm Winter Leaves Western U.S. Snowpack at Record Low Levels 0415

Sierra Nevada Snowpack Hits Historic Low 0315 - Snows return in December 2015.

As Ice Turns to Slush, Experts Foresee End to Outdoor Hockey in Canada 0315

What a Record-Low Snowpack Means For Summer In The Northwest 0315

Scientists See Shrinking California Snowpack as a Harbinger 0115

Snowiest Decade in 50 Years? Compare Winter Snow Cover to Spring Lack 0115