Summer temperatures increase

Calculations show temps are up 7 degrees in past 40 years 

BY SARA HOTTMAN

H&N Staff Reporter 

December 1, 2010

   Climate calculations show under current conditions, temperatures will have increased by 7 degrees in 40 years.

   For an area dependent on snow pack for water storage, that could be detrimental, experts said.

   Snow accumulates in the mountains during the winter and gradually melts during the warm months, replenishing water bodies that irrigators, tribes, refuges, and other stakeholders use during the summer.

   Increase predicted

   Scientists believe precipitation will actually increase over 40 years, but if temperatures don’t drop to freezing or below,“ precipitation will come down as rain,” Barr said. “It will run off the sides of the mountain, not stick to it.”

   The Oregon Climate Change Research Institute report predicts the cost of water would increase as snow pack decreases.

   Last winter was dry, causing drought conditions this season. Lack of water strained local agriculture and refuges and stressed underground aquifers that provide water for domestic and irrigation wells.

   High temperatures would extend the growing season and improve yields, Institute researchers reported, but Barr said higher temperatures also would evaporate more water as it’s stored in reservoirs to compensate for less snow pack.

   Mitigating warming temperatures would take a global effort to reduce carbon dioxide pollution, experts said.