Asymmetric emergence of low-to-no snow in the midlatitudes of the American Cordillera

Future changes and regional differences in snowpacks are unclear. Here the American Cordillera mountain range, spanning the Americas, is estimated to lose snow faster in the southern midlatitudes-global warming should be limited to below 2.5 degrees C to prevent low-to-no-snow conditions across the range. Societies and ecosystems within and downstream of mountains rely on seasonal snowmelt to satisfy their water demands. Anthropogenic climate change has reduced mountain snowpacks worldwide, altering snowmelt magnitude and timing. Here the global warming level leading to widespread and persistent mountain snowpack decline, termed low-to-no snow, is estimated for the world's most latitudinally contiguous mountain range, the American Cordillera. We show that a combination of dynamical, thermodynamical and hypsometric factors results in an asymmetric emergence of low-to-no-snow conditions within the midlatitudes of the American Cordillera. Low-to-no-snow emergence occurs approximately 20 years earlier in the southern hemisphere, at a third of the local warming level, and coincides with runoff efficiency declines (8% average) in both dry and wet years. The prevention of a low-to-no-snow future in either hemisphere requires the level of global warming to be held to, at most, +2.5 degrees C.

Automated summary

This study estimates the impact of global warming on snowpacks in the American Cordillera mountain range and finds an asymmetrical emergence of low-to-no-snow conditions in the midlatitudes, with the southern hemisphere experiencing this condition earlier than the northern hemisphere. To prevent future low-to-no-snow conditions, global warming must be limited to below +2.5 degrees C.