It seems that people, at least in part, are to blame for lakes getting warmer and for reduced ice cover.
At least, that is what a study in the journal Nature Geoscience concluded.
The paper published last year called “Attribution of global lake systems change to anthropogenic forcing” states that because of human-induced climate change, lakes are experiencing warmer water temperatures with lake ice-cover forming later and melting earlier.
These impacts can have serious consequences on lake ecosystems, most notably our native fish populations and water quality. No matter which way the authors looked at it, their study showed that it is highly unlikely these trends could be blamed entirely on natural climate variability alone.
While a 1°C increase in global air temperature may not seem like a lot to some, the reality is that for every time the global air temperature increases by 1°C, our lakes suffer – they warm by approximately 0.9°C and have 9.7 days less ice cover.
If that trend continues, it could have a serious impact on our lakes and the biodiversity that exists within. However, there is hope! According to the senior author of the study, there’s still time for us to take action and change the future. By reducing our emissions, we can help turn things around for the health of our lakes.