Decline in snow mass threatens the regional economy that critically depends on meltwater. However, the economic scale of snow mass loss is hardly understood, and its role in the vulnerability of future economic development is unclear. We investigate the current reserves of snow cover and the value of its loss. The result showed that the total annual snow mass in western China declines at a rate of 3.3 x 10(9) Pg per decade (p < 0.05), which accounts for approximately 0.46% of the mean of annual snow mass (7.2 x 10(11) Pg). Snow mass loss over the past 40 years in western China turns into an average loss value of CN0.1 billion (in the present value) every year ($1 = CN7). If the trend continues at the current rate, the accumulated loss value would rise to CN63 billion by 2040. Furthermore, subject to the combinations of RCPs and SSPs scenario, the future economic value of snow mass loss in western China appears to accelerate driven by both declining snowmelt resources and socioeconomic development demand. RCP26-SSP1 is the pathway among all to have the least economic cost in replacing the snowmelt loss, and the cost would be quadrupled in RCP80-SSP3 scenario by 2100. At a basin scale, the declining snow mass would turn the regional economy to be more vulnerable except Junggar and Ili endorheic basin. The Ertis river and Qaidam endorheic basins display to be most vulnerable. It highlights that the snowvalue can be economically important in the regions ofwest China and should be considered more properly in water resources management. (C) 2020 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier B.V.

来源平台：SCIENCE OF THE TOTAL ENVIRONMENT