Swiss rivers on track to overheat by the end of the century

(Image: Pixabay CC0) - According to an EPFL study, if we take immediate measures to reduce CO₂ emissions, we could limit the rise in the temperature of Swiss rivers to 1°C between now and 2090 without drastically affecting their discharge. Inaction, on the other hand, would threaten ecosystems and jeopardize the country's agriculture sector and electricity production. "People tend to think that water is an unlimited resource in Switzerland," says Adrien Michel, who recently completed his PhD in environmental science and engineering at EPFL. "But by the end of this century, we may well have to choose between using our rivers to water our crops and damming them up in order to produce electricity." Michel carried out his doctoral work at the Laboratory of Cryospheric Sciences (CRYOS) within EPFL's School of Architecture, Civil and Environmental Engineering. After completing a retrospective study on the impact of global warming on Swiss rivers ( EPFL News, 30 January 2020 ), Michel has now published a forward-looking study on the same topic in the journal Hydrology and Earth System Sciences. The new study, on which he is the lead author, was funded by the Swiss Federal Office for the Environment and selected as a highlight paper for the journal. Three scenarios Michel's research lays out three possible scenarios that depend on whether greenhouse gas emissions are low, moderate or high.