By the end of the 21st century, the South American Andes will have less than half their current winter snowpack, a study has suggested.

The study also revealed that mountain ranges in Europe and the US will have lost nearly half of their snow-bound water, and snow on New Zealand's picturesque snowcapped peaks will all but have vanished.

The decline in winter snowpack means less spring and summer runoff from snowmelt. That translates to unprecedented pressure on people worldwide who depend on summertime melting of the winter snowpack for irrigation and drinking water.

Lead author Steven Ghan, of Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, said: "Hardest hit are mountains in temperate zones where temperatures remain freezing only at increasingly higher elevations."

Alaska in 2100 will maintain just 64 per cent of its year 2000 snowpack. In Europe, the Alps will be at 61 per cent and Scandinavia 56 per cent.

The Sierras, Cascades and southern Rockies will be at 57 per cent of current levels. The Andes will drop to only 45 per cent and peaks in New Zealand will be at 16 per cent.

The study findings are published in the Journal of Climate.

The article Bleak outlook for world's mountains originally appeared on 999 Today