Pulse Brain · Growing Health Evidence Index
Tier 3 — Observational / field trialPeer-reviewed

Drought less predictable under declining future snowpack

Ben Livneh, Andrew M. Badger

Nature Climate Change · 2020

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Summary

Livneh and Badger (2020) investigate how reduced snowpack under future climate scenarios alters the predictability of drought events, as published in Nature Climate Change. The paper appears to demonstrate that declining snowpack leads to less predictable drought patterns, potentially complicating water resource management and agricultural planning. The research integrates hydrological and climate modelling to assess changes in drought characteristics as snowpack diminishes.

UK applicability

Direct applicability to the United Kingdom is limited, as the study focuses on snowpack-dependent western United States hydrology. However, the methodological approach to assessing climate-driven changes in drought predictability may inform UK research on changing precipitation patterns and water availability under future climate scenarios.

Key measures

Snowpack volume and timing; drought frequency, duration, and predictability; streamflow projections; climate model outputs

Outcomes reported

The study examined how declining future snowpack affects the predictability and temporal characteristics of drought events. The research analysed projections of drought occurrence and intensity in relation to snowpack reduction across western United States regions.

Theme
Climate & resilience
Subject
Climate & greenhouse gas mitigation
Study type
Research
Study design
Modelling study / Observational analysis
Source type
Peer-reviewed study
Status
Published
Geography
United States
System type
Other
DOI
10.1038/s41558-020-0754-8
Catalogue ID
SNmokylmzt-zpuc1t

Topic tags

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