Global warming

Geology

Climate change

Meteorology

Snow

Extratropical cyclone

Physical geography

Precipitation

Oceanography

Atmospheric circulation

Geography

Snow cover

Climatology

Environmental science

Snow line

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

Significance Given the importance of snow to global food, water, and energy security, characterizing snow deficits (snow droughts) in a changing climate has emerged as a critical knowledge gap. We identify snow drought hot spots and determine how drought duration and intensity vary globally. We show that eastern Russia, Europe, and the western United States experienced longer, more intense snow droughts in the second half of the period 1980 to 2018. During this period, droughts became less intense over the Hindu Kush, Himalayas, extratropical Andes, and Patagonia regions. Natural and human-driven factors (e.g., atmospheric circulation patterns, polar vortex movement, and Arctic warming) likely contribute to snow droughts. We urge the community to further investigate the complex physical drivers of snow drought.

Global snow drought hot spots and characteristics