Bleak future predicted for snow in Australian Alps
By David Wroe
10 October 2011
AUSTRALIA’S ski slopes could be completely bare of natural winter snow by 2050 unless concerted action is taken against global warming, according to a government-commissioned report that paints a grim picture of the effects of climate change on alpine areas. The report, Caring For Our Australian Alps Catchments [pdf], has found that the Alps, which stretch from Victoria through NSW to the ACT, face an average temperature rise of between 0.6 and 2.9 degrees by 2050, depending on how much action countries take to combat climate change. ”The effects of climate change are predicted to be the single greatest threat to the natural condition values of the Australian Alps catchments,” the report says. Rain, snow and other precipitation will decrease by up to 24 per cent in the next four decades, accompanied by more bushfires, more droughts, more severe storms and more rapid run-off, causing heavy erosion. Australia’s major mountain range, which peaks with Mount Kosciuszko at 2228 metres, is particularly vulnerable and faces a dramatic transformation unless serious efforts are made, the study concludes. ”The scenario that is most likely is that there will be less snow both in total and in area, and that we shift more to summer rainfall,” said study co-author Roger Good, a former NSW government botanist. ”There won’t be snow that sits around and slowly melts as there has been in the past. There will be more storm events in summer and therefore faster run-off, which has a lot of potential impacts in terms of soil erosion and damage to vegetation. The worst-case scenario is that there will be no snow at all … only rainfall in both summer and winter.” The study looked at the 235 Alps catchments, which together provide about 29 per cent of the annual water flows into the Murray-Darling Basin. Towns and cities from Wagga Wagga in NSW to Mildura in Victoria and all the way to Adelaide would be affected by global warming damage to the Alps, Mr Good said. It was the first full health check on the catchments since 1957. Six out of 10 are in ”poor to moderate” condition. Less than a quarter are getting better. Snow cover has already declined by more than 30 per cent since 1954. The spring thaw has happened two days earlier per decade. […]
