Researchers at the University of California, Irvine, led by graduate student Kara Lamantia, used four decades of NASA satellite images to confirm that regional warming caused by El Niño led to a sharp decline in snow cover. From 1985 to 2022, QIC lost approximately 58% of its snow area and 37% of its total area.
The study, published in the journal The Cryosphere, used an automated algorithm to identify snowfields using near-infrared imaging; This increases the accuracy of measurements without requiring extensive field work. The results show that snow cover decreases significantly during El Niño due to warmer and drier conditions in southern Peru.
Given climate change, El Niños are expected to become stronger and longer, further threatening the future of the QIC. Forecasts show that snow cover could disappear by 2080.
Source: Ferra
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