Areas of snow and ice have huge consequences for the climate and environment. Light, highly reflective surfaces, such as fresh snow, have a high albedo and do not absorb incoming solar radiation as rapidly as regular land or ocean. Snow and ice also provide crucial habitats for some plants and animals.

The melting of snow and ice comes with some positive and some negative effects. Reduced areas of snow and ice accelerate global warming, due to a shrinking area of high reflectance to send sunlight back into space. Water runoff from snowpack and glaciers, when combined with rainfall, can affect the timing and magnitude of river flows and significantly impact the risk of flooding events. However, billions of people worldwide rely on seasonal water runoff from snowpack and glaciers for irrigation and drinking water.

NASA’s Earth-observing satellites help scientists track the extent and effects of snow and ice through data products such as land cover maps, reflectance data, and climate summaries. These data provide the basis for studies into topics such as global warming, animal habitats, agriculture, and water management.