By the end of the century, western Canada’s glaciers will shrink by 70 per cent: study

The snow-capped peaks on the Rocky Mountains are melting — and glaciers in this part of the country are expected to shrink by about 70 per cent by the year 2100, if existing warming continues.

This is according to a new study, published in Nature Geoscience.

“Near-total loss is going to be concentrated in the Rockies, so people driving into Banff or Jasper Park will be hard-pressed to see glaciers in the landscape by the time this is played out,” UBC professor emeritus Garry Clarke told the Canadian Press.

The study was put together using a 3D modelling system which essentially imagines a future world where the current warming trend continues.

“You’ve got the physics that describes what’s going on, you try to put as much of it as you can in there,” says Clarke. “If you’ve done a good job, it resembles the system that you’re trying to emulate.”

That lack of ice on mountains will affect skiing, water flows shift, and those changes in water supply will also affect farming and fishing.

On a related note, this was the warmest winter in the last 30 years.

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today