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https://assets.documentcloud.org/do...aft-of-the-Climate-Science-Special-Report.pdf
Here’s how climate change is already affecting the US
A report has been drafted by scientists in 13 federal agencies such as NASA and NOAA as part of the National Climate Assessment, which is mandated by Congress every four years. It is a meta-study, meaning it is the conglomeration of thousands of different scientific studies on climate change. The report states, among other things, the CURRENT effects of climate change on the US. Here is a rundown of the major points, quoted from the second site.
Here’s how climate change is already affecting the US
A report has been drafted by scientists in 13 federal agencies such as NASA and NOAA as part of the National Climate Assessment, which is mandated by Congress every four years. It is a meta-study, meaning it is the conglomeration of thousands of different scientific studies on climate change. The report states, among other things, the CURRENT effects of climate change on the US. Here is a rundown of the major points, quoted from the second site.
- It’s getting hotter. Average annual temperatures in the US have increased by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit between 1901 and 2016.
- Cities are bearing the brunt. Urban areas are experiencing an increase in daytime temperatures of up to 7 degrees Fahrenheit, as well as an increase in nighttime temperatures of up to 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit. That’s especially true for humid regions in the Eastern United States.
- There is more extreme heat. Cold waves have become less frequent since the early 1900s, while heat waves have become more frequent since the 1960s. Heat waves can destroy crops, cause power outages, and they are dangerous for your health.
- It’s getting rainier. Average annual rainfall has increased by about 4 percent since 1901 in the US. While the Northern and Southern Plains, the Midwest, and the Northeast are getting wetter, much of the West, Southwest, and Southeast are getting drier.
- There’s more extreme rain. Heavy rainfall events have become more frequent and more intense since 1901 in most parts of the US, and that’s particularly true for the Northeastern US. Heavy rain can cause deadly flash floods, and carry more nutrient runoff to our lakes and oceans, affecting water quality and shutting down fisheries.
- Tornadoes have become more variable. Particularly over the 2000s, there’s been a decrease in the number of days with tornadoes, but an increase in the number of tornadoes on those days.
- The trees are burning. Large forest fires have become more common in the Western US and Alaska since the early 1980s.
- Sea levels are rising. Average sea levels around the world have risen by about seven to eight inches since the beginning of the 20th century, with about three of those inches occurring since 1993. That has caused the number of tidal floods in several US coastal cities to increase five to tenfold since the 1960s.
- Alaska is hit hard. Temperatures in Alaska (and the Arctic) have risen twice as fast as the global average in the past 50 years; permafrost is thawing; and glaciers have lost ice. Each year since 1984 has seen a lower average mass of ice in Alaska’s glaciers than the previous years.