On regular basis, new facts about climate change get surfaced. A new report has unveiled about climate change’s effects on the northern hemisphere’s water supply. Researchers said that many nations north of the equator can suffer water shortage owing to shrinking snowpacks.

The article published in the Environmental Research Letters has revealed that scientists have found snow-dependent drainage basins in the northern hemisphere that cater to two billion people. Scientists on the basis of their computer models have predicted that reduced snowpacks could affect water supplies by 2060.

These basins cater to many parts of the American West, nations in the southern Europe, Middle East and central Asia. Study’s lead researcher Justin Mankin from the Columbia University explained the importance of snow and how global warming is affecting the entire balance.

Mankin was of the view that snow is vital as it forms its own water reservoirs. Citing an example, during spring and summers, need for water is at its peak. In those seasons, snow melts and water would run into the lowlands and further to cities and towns where there is more demand of water for drinking and irrigation purpose.

Mankin also cleared that water shortage’s effect will not be the same for all places. He said, “Water managers in a lot of places may need to prepare for a world where the snow reservoir no longer exists”.