Study: Farms, Hydropower at Risk in West’s Changing Climate

Climate change could upset the complex interplay of rain, snow and temperature in the West, hurting food production, the environment and electrical generation at dams, the federal government warned Tuesday.

Some areas could get more rain and less snow, reducing the snowmelt flowing into reservoirs in the summer when farmers need it to irrigate, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation report said. Higher temperatures would mean more evaporation from reservoirs, particularly in California’s Sacramento and San Joaquin river basins.