The Andes Mountain Range: Climate Change and Conservation
The topic of conversation in recent days has been the Miracle of the Andes, the accident of the Uruguayan Air Force plane that crashed in the Andes mountain range on October 13, 1972. An accident from more than 50 years ago that has become a topic once again due to the recent film called “Snow Society”. This film tells the story of how 45 passengers, including 16 who survived 72 days in the Andes. Recently, a study published in 2019 in the journal Nature, by the Antarctic Research Group of the Department of Physics of the University of Santiago de Chile, has brought to light changes in the Andes.
The study, using over 400 images, showed that the annual persistence of snow has decreased at a rate of 10% to 20% per decade in those latitudes. In tropical and cold regions, snow losses are mainly attributed to changes in El Niño. The scientists found that the decrease in snow cover was attributed to increasing temperatures and changes in precipitation patterns, affecting areas of central-western Argentina and central Chile.
The research also suggests that climate change is causing a decrease in the amount of snow, with leading author Raúl R. Cordero stating, “We have already lost 1/3 of the snow cover in the last 30 years…and it is unlikely that we will recover it.” He also emphasized the importance of snow in the Andes for the water supply in various parts of South America.
However, it’s unclear whether snow losses will continue in the future. Climate change may increase variability in snow amounts, potentially impacting urban water supply, power generation, and agriculture in the region. Now, it’s also important to think about conservation due to these reports.