Higher Carbon Dioxide Level Will Cause Less Snow, Study Predicts

According to the new climate model that was developed by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, and analysed by scientists at GFDL and Princeton University, it is predicted that less snow will fall globally over the next 100 years caused by increasing level of carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide (chemical formula CO2) is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. It is a gas at standard temperature and pressure and exists in Earth's atmosphere in this state, as a trace gas at a concentration of 0.039 per cent by volume.

The model shows that the most of the planet would experience decrease in snowfall as a result of warming due to a doubling of atmospheric carbon dioxide according to the Journal of Climate reports.

The northeast coast is predicted to be the place that will be most influenced with less snow, in the mountainous west and in the Pacific Northwest. However, in very cold regions of the globe snowfall will increase due to air warming, it can hold more moisture, casuing increased precipitation in the form of snow.

“Shorter snow season, less snow overall, but the occasional knockout punch,” Princeton University climate scientist Michael Oppenheimer told USA Today. “That’s the new world we live in.”

The lastest model is an improvement over previous models in that it uses more detail regarding the world's topography such as the mountains, valleys and other features.

Scientists worry that less snowfall may harm the ecosystems.

“The decline in snowfall could spell trouble for regions such as the western United States that rely on snowmelt as a source of fresh water,” said study author Catherine Zandonella, reported Red Orbit.