Climate Change and Water

Water is linked inextricably with climate. The warming trend recorded over the past decades shows up in changing precipitation patterns, widespread melting of snow and ice, increases in atmospheric water vapour through increasing evaporation, and changes in soil moisture and runoff.

However, it is difficult to pinpoint exactly how climate change is affecting the hydrologic cycle at the Yukon scale, among all the other variables that affect climate or water or both. While there is broad agreement that changes affecting Yukon water resources will occur, they will vary from region to region, and be felt on a watershed scale. Following are some of the trends and processes to watch for.