Large swathes of the northern hemisphere could suffer water shortages due to shrinking snowpacks, researchers said.

Data shows reduced snowpacks – the seasonal accumulation of snow – will likely imperil water supplies by 2060 in regions from California’s farmlands to war-torn areas of the Middle East.

“Water managers in a lot of places may need to prepare for a world where the snow reservoir no longer exists,” said Justin Mankin, the study’s lead author and a researcher at Columbia University’s Earth Institute in New York, in a statement.

Prepare for a world where the snow reservoir no longer exists

Basins in northern and central California, the Ebro-Duero basin in Portugal, Spain and southern France and the Shatt al-Arab basin affecting much of the Middle East count among those sensitive to changes.

In these areas, global warming is disrupting snow accumulation, which acts as a seasonal source of water when it melts.

Still, across most of North America, northern Europe, Russia, China and southeast Asia, rainfall is projected to continue meeting demand, according to the study published in the online journal Environmental Research Letters.

World leaders will meet in Paris starting this month in a bid to agree on ways to reduce the effects of climate change.