<p>In monsoonal or highly seasonal climates, with precipitation concentrated into a few months of the year, dry season river flow is sustained by melting ice from previous years. If precipitation remains constant, but temperatures rise, more water will runoff in the rainy season, exacerbating flood risks, and there will be less ice to melt and provide dry season flows. In the period of transition from 'cold' to 'warm', total runoff may actually increase initially, as melt water component is added to rainfall.</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-16T18:35:33.410Z
So it's not that glaciers "feed" rivers, they just distribute precipitation more evenly, don't they?
Sergey Zolotarev
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-16T23:32:45.880Z
@SergeyZolotarev which is really important, all rivers are just distributions of precipitation, without something to delay the water flow all rivers would only last a few hours after rain. glaciers can even out decades or centuries of rainfall.
John
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-18T07:48:49.820Z
Yes,  because flash-floods are not very useful to farmers and locals. The glaciers reduce flash floods in rainy season and raise hot season supplies.
bandybabboon
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-15T08:31:22.850Z
2022-09-15T08:31:22.850Z
Andy M
<p>How do melting glaciers dry rivers? Unless there's less precipitation during winter, I don't see how it affects the volume of water of the rivers that glaciers feed into. If it's cold, water accumulates as snow, and then during spring it melts and flows into rivers. If it's warm, it just rains and flows into rivers right away. What's the difference?</p>

CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-15T20:34:03.507Z
May be helpful to give an example of where you heard/saw the concept :-)
JeopardyTempest
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-16T00:28:57.193Z
glaciers aren't just melting, they are disappearing entirely.
John
CC BY-SA 4.0
2022-09-16T18:31:19.807Z
@John and how does it affect rivers? Aren't glaciers just an intermediary between precipitation and rivers, not the source of water per se?
Sergey Zolotarev
<climate-change><water><glaciology>
How do melting glaciers dry rivers?
Sergey Zolotarev
# How do melting glaciers dry rivers?

(Asked by: username_0 on 2022-09-14)

How do melting glaciers dry rivers? Unless there's less precipitation during winter, I don't see how it affects the volume of water of the rivers that glaciers feed into. If it's cold, water accumulates as snow, and then during spring it melts and flows into rivers. If it's warm, it just rains and flows into rivers right away. What's the difference?

**Tags:** climate-change, water, glaciology

> **Comments:**
> **username_1**: May be helpful to give an example of where you heard/saw the concept :-)  
> **username_2**: glaciers aren't just melting, they are disappearing entirely.  
> **username_0**: @username_2 and how does it affect rivers? Aren't glaciers just an intermediary between precipitation and rivers, not the source of water per se?  

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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_3 on 2022-09-15. Score: 3 | Accepted answer

In monsoonal or highly seasonal climates, with precipitation concentrated into a few months of the year, dry season river flow is sustained by melting ice from previous years. If precipitation remains constant, but temperatures rise, more water will runoff in the rainy season, exacerbating flood risks, and there will be less ice to melt and provide dry season flows. In the period of transition from 'cold' to 'warm', total runoff may actually increase initially, as melt water component is added to rainfall.

> **Comments:**
> **username_0**: So it's not that glaciers "feed" rivers, they just distribute precipitation more evenly, don't they?  
> **username_2**: @username_0 which is really important, all rivers are just distributions of precipitation, without something to delay the water flow all rivers would only last a few hours after rain. glaciers can even out decades or centuries of rainfall.  
> **username_4**: Yes,  because flash-floods are not very useful to farmers and locals. The glaciers reduce flash floods in rainy season and raise hot season supplies.  

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