A new study from a San Diego climate researcher says global warming will have some drastic impacts in California's water supplies. The findings are in the current issue of the journal Nature. Scripps Institution of Oceanography researcher Tim Barnett says the study predicts warmer temperatures will steadily shrink the state's snow-pack. He says his computer based simulations found millions of people around the world will suffer water shortages as snow-packs and glaciers shrink. Barnett says its no longer a question of IF, but of WHEN.
Barnett: "We've got to get on this problem right now. We're going to see some impacts of it. There's no question about that. And I'm particularly concerned about the younger people. Probably anybody under 60 is going to see some part of the impacts of this."
California's snow-pack captures much of the winter's rainfall and releases slowly through the summer. Warmer temperatures mean less snow-fall. The snow-pack would also melt quicker outstripping the state's capacity to capture the runoff.
