Climate crisis is affecting availability of water resources

Published 1:30 am Thursday, February 5, 2026

All over the West, water has become a difficult issue, and a recent Herald article discusses just one of those issues (“Climate change poses challenges for reservoir management,” The Herald, Jan. 26). It is the same here in Southern California, where diminishing snowpack because of the warming from increasing emissions of greenhouse gases throws the usual out of whack. Not enough snow means that summer water is no longer available. The snow melts earlier and when summer comes there is no more for our farmers.

There are ways to resolve the problem, but what we should be doing is reducing our emissions and reining in the planet’s warming.

I’m concerned for the long term, for my children, grandchildren and (potential) great-grandchildren. Will they have a livable world? I urge readers to make sure that their representatives at all levels of government know that this is an important issue.

Maggie Wineburgh-Freed

Los Angeles