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U.S. Regions
Related Links
Regional Information
- The Arid and Semi-Arid Western United States
- Central
Great Plains Climate Change Impacts Assessment
- Climate Change Science Program Synthesis and Assessment Product 4.7: Impacts of Climate Variability and Change on Transportation Systems and Infrastructure -- Gulf Coast Study
- Climate Impacts Group (Pacific
Northwest)
- The Consortium for Atlantic Regional Assessment
- EPA Global Change Research Program
- IPCC Working
Group II, Fourth Assessment Report, Chapter 14 North America (PDF, 36 pp., 895 kb, About PDF)
U.S. State-Level Information
- Alaska: Climate Change Impacts in Alaska
- Arizona: Arizona
Climate Change Advisory Group
- California: Climate Change Impacts and Adaptation in California
- Georgia: Climate Change and Georgia (PDF, 4pp., 4 kb, About PDF)
- Illinois: Illinois
Global Climate Change Project
- New
Hampshire: Impacts
of Climate Change in New Hampshire
- New
Mexico: New
Mexico Climate Change Advisory Group
- Oregon: Climate Change and Oregon
According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), North America is projected to warm between 3.6-18 °F (2-10 °C) by 2100, depending on the region (IPCC, 2007). The large range in warming reflects large projected increases in Arctic temperatures in northern Alaska and Canada, uncertainties in future emissions, the climate's response to those emissions, and the difficulty of projecting future climate change at the regional level.
To address some of the central areas of research on this topic, including uncertainties in projections of regional climate change, the U.S. Climate Change Science Program (CCSP) has initiated 21 separate analyses to be completed over the next two to three years. For more information, see the CCSP Web site.
The following list, while not comprehensive, provides illustrative examples of some of the higher likelihood effects of climate change in different parts of the United States (IPCC, 2007):
In the Northeast:
- Northward shifts in the ranges of plant and animal species resulting from warmer temperatures
- Coastal erosion, loss of wetland habitat, increased risk from storm surges from sea level rise
- Reduced winter recreation (skiing); increased warm season activities
- Higher summer heat and increase in heat-related morbidity and mortality, especially in urban areas; reduced winter cold stress with associated decrease in cold-related mortality
- Increase vulnerability of infrastructure (e.g. roads and utilities) from extreme events such as coastal flooding
In the Southeast and Gulf Coast:
- Increased coastal erosion including loss of barrier islands and wetlands
- Intense coastal zone development places coastal floodplains at risk to flooding from sea level rise, storm surge, and extreme precipitation events
- Changing forest character as disturbances (e.g., fire and insect outbreaks) increase
- Higher summer heat; reduced winter cold stress
In the Midwest and Great Lakes:
- Lowered lake and river levels, resulting from warmer temperatures and increased evaporation, impact recreation and shipping
- Warming lake and river temperatures leading to reductions in many fish stocks
- Decrease in water quality leading to habitat loss and eutrophication
- Increased agricultural productivity in many regions resulting from increased carbon dioxide and warmer temperatures
- Higher summer heat and increase in heat-related morbidity and mortality, especially in urban areas; reduced winter cold stress with associated decrease in cold-related mortality
In the Great Plains:
- Agricultural productivity shifts northward as the potential for drought increases
- Intensified springtime flood and summertime drought cycles
- Higher summer heat; reduced winter cold stress
In the West:
- Changes in natural ecosystems resulting from higher temperatures and possibly intensified winter precipitation
- Earlier snowmelt and significant reductions in snowpack stressing some reservoir systems
- Decreased yields of crops that are already near climate thresholds such as California wine grapes
- Increased stress on groundwater systems leading to decreased recharge
- Higher summer heat; reduced winter cold stress
- Increased wildfire potential
Alaska:
- Forest disruption resulting from warming and increased pest outbreaks
- General increase in biological production from warming; but reduced sea ice and warming disrupts polar bears, marine mammals, and other wildlife
- Damage to infrastructure resulting from permafrost melting
- Retreating sea ice and earlier snowmelt alter native people's traditional life styles
- Opportunities for warm season activities increase
For more detailed information on how climate change may affect different regions and States within the U.S., please see the related links.
References
- IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [Parry, Martin L., Canziani, Osvaldo F., Palutikof, Jean P., van der Linden, Paul J., and Hanson, Clair E. (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 1000 pp.