Tag: regional climate

Adapted from: Global Climate Impacts in the United States. T.R. Karl, J.M. Mellilo, and T.C. Peterson (eds.). Cambridge University Press, 2009. Available online at USGCRP Regional Climate Change Impacts

Recent warming in the Southwest has been among the most rapid in the nation, and it raises concerns about the region’s water sustainability. The warming is associated with declines in spring snowpack and Colorado River flow. Water supplies in some areas are already becoming limited. Conflict over water rights is likely …

Adapted from: Global Climate Impacts in the United States. T.R. Karl, J.M. Mellilo, and T.C. Peterson (eds.). Cambridge University Press, 2009. Available online at USGCRP

In the Midwest, precipitation has increased along with temperature in recent decades. Average temperatures in the Midwest have risen, with the largest increases in winter. The length of the frost-free or growing season has been extended by one week, mainly due to earlier dates for the last spring frost. Since the 1980s, large heat waves …

Adapted from Joyce, L.A. 2008. Climate Change Assessments (May 20, 2008). U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Climate Change Resource Center. http://www.fs.fed.us/ccrc/topics/assessments.shtml

Issue

The science associated with climate and its effects on ecosystems, economies, and social systems is developing rapidly. Climate change assessments can serve as an important synthesis of this science and provide the information and context for management and policy decisions on adaptation and mitigation.

The purpose of a climate change assessment is to synthesize, evaluate, and report …