Briefing: Ice, snow and water – impacts of climate change on California and Himalayan Asia

This briefing outlines the issues discussed at an international workshop held in San Diego in May 2009, which focused on the impact on water resources of declining mountain snows and glacier retreat in Himalayan Asia and western USA. The workshop concluded that, because adaptation strategies are locally conditioned, new regional climate assessments are required that link global climate models to local decision making.