Lakes 'skating on thin ice' as warming limits freeze

https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-47029482

Lakes 'skating on thin ice' as warming limits freeze

By Matt McGrath
Environment correspondent

28 January 2019

Thousands of lakes across the Northern Hemisphere are set to lose their winter ice as global temperatures rise, say scientists. Their new study suggests that, within a generation, over 35,000 lakes will lose their winter cover.

The researchers involved say the disappearance will have significant implications for millions of people living near these bodies of water. It could also pose a threat to supplies of drinking water and to fish species.

Right now some 15,000 lakes in Canada, the US and northern parts of Europe experience intermittent ice cover during the winter months. This means that they freeze in the colder winters but remain ice free when winters are warmer. This is already posing problems for communities living in these regions who rely on ice roads that cross lakes for food supplies and social connection.
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Now, in what researchers believe is the most comprehensive analysis of lake ice loss, researchers say that many more lakes are set to go ice free in winter. If the world manages to keep the rise in global temperatures to 2C, the study suggests that the number of lakes experiencing intermittent ice will increase to over 35,000. This may have implications for 394 million people who live within an hour of their shores.
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