Articles on our Climate and Environment
REPORT: CLIMATE CHANGE ALREADY
AFFECTING U.S.
(June 22,
2009)
Man-made climate change is
already lifting temperatures, increasing rainfall, and raising sea levels
around the United States --and its effects are on track to get much worse in
the coming century, according a report, "Global Climate Change Impacts in
the United States", released by federal scientists on June 16th. The report
was unveiled at a news conference including John Holden, President Obama's
chief science adviser, and Jane Lubchenco, administrator of the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
Among its findings:
--The average U.S.
temperature has risen 2 degrees over the past 50 years and might rise more
rapidly, between 4 and 11 degrees, before 2100. Temperatures will be nearer
the upper end of this range if global emissions are not cut.
--Precipitation in the
U.S. has increased an average of about 5 percent over the past 50 years. In
the future, computer models show that northern areas will become wetter, and
southern areas will become drier, especially in the West.
--The heaviest rainfalls
ware even heavier now, with the amount of rainfall in major storms having
increased 20 percent nationwide over the past century. The hardest-hit
areas have been the Northeast--where heavy storms are now 67 percent heavier
--and the Midwest, with a 31 percent increase. In this definition, the
"Northeast" includes the District and Maryland, but not Virginia.
--Extreme heat waves will
also become more common. A temperature reached only once in 20 years until
now might be reached every other year of so by the end of the century.
--Sea levels have been
rising along most of the U.S. coast over the past 50 years, increasing up to
eight inches in some places. The trend is expected to continue as warmer
temperatures melt glaciers and cause the ocean to expand like a wooden door
on a hot day. Some of the worst-hit areas are expected to be along the East
Coast, owing to a confluence of rising and subsiding land. Seas might rise
2.3 feet near New York City.
The report can be found
online at
www.globalchange.gov
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