Winters in Utah are getting warmer and that is becoming increasingly evident as Utah’s snowpack slowly approaches the low levels seen in 2021.
Robert Davies, a professor at Utah State University who works in the Plant, Soils and Climate program, has indicated that snowpack for the state has been on a decline over the last 40 years. These warmer winters will impact the state’s water supply because more precipitation will fall as rain in the coming years.
Tracked by the Natural Resources Conservation Service, Utah’s snowpack is below the median in every basin throughout the state, aside from the area around Beaver. At the current rate of decline, 2022’s levels could be behind 2021 soon enough.
Davies believes that the current situation requires an immediate response and says that while the solution is complex, it would help to cut fossil fuel usage in half every decade for the next several decades.
According to Davies, there is some good news, as officials know what they need to know and have the technology as well as resources to do something about it.
