bleak

Water outlook ‘bleak’ as glaciers recede in Rocky Mountains

Water outlook ‘bleak’ as glaciers recede in Rocky Mountains

Where fly fisherman Shane Olson once paddled summer tourists around in a boat, he now guides them by foot — carefully navigating shallow waters one step at a time. “Every year, these rivers seem to be getting smaller, faster,” the 48-year-old said as he whipped a fishing line over the Crowsnest River. “We are pushing it to the absolute breaking point” During the second half of this century, most Canadian Rocky glaciers will melt, according to a 2019 study in Water Resources Research. The region’s water outlook will be “bleak” long before then, said University of Lethbridge geographer Christopher Hopkins. Currently, warmer temperatures are causing mountain snow and ice to melt earlier in the year, increasing the likelihood of summertime water shortages, according to research published last year in Environmental Reviews.