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Tipping Point Ahead

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Climate

U.S. Climate Change Impacts Map

The U.S. Global Change Research Program (GCRP) has released a new report “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States " that finds climate impacts are being felt from coast to coast

Click on our map to learn more about the impacts of climate change in each region

From the East Coast to the West Coast and Alaska and Hawaii – every region of the United States is already experiencing the impacts of climate change – from droughts and floods to heat waves and wildfires – and these impacts will worsen dramatically if emissions of greenhouse gases are not significantly curtailed.

White House Releases Landmark Climate Change Report

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A new report, released June 16, 2009, by the White House is the most up-to-date and comprehensive assessment of the impacts climate change already is having in the U.S., and the growing impacts Americans will experience in the future. The report finds climate changes are already affecting water resources, energy supply and demand, transportation, agriculture, ecosystems, and health. These impacts are different from region to region and will grow as climate continues to change.

Observed changes are detailed in the report, broken down by nine regions: Southwest, Southeast, Pacific Northwest, Northeast, Midwest, Great Plains, Alaska, Islands, and Coasts. The key impacts identified in the report are:

Water
The report finds that nearly every region of the country has experienced water-related impacts in the form of floods and water quality issues, while noting that some areas, namely the Southeast and West, are also suffering from more frequent droughts. Additionally, the report notes declining mountain snowpack, a primary source of freshwater in the West and in Alaska.

Agriculture
Weather extremes, pests, diseases and warmer temperatures pose challenges for agriculture.

Risks to Coastal Areas
U.S. coastal communities face erosion and flooding due to rising sea levels and greater storm surges. The report notes that the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, Hawaii and Alaska are particularly at risk, as is critical transportation and energy infrastructure.

Human Health
Heat, poor air quality, diseases and severe weather events threaten all areas of the country.

Environmental Impacts
Climate change is stressing fragile ecosystems and threatened animal and plant species. According to the report, “climate change will push ecosystems beyond critical thresholds, resulting in abrupt, large and persistent changes.” It notes that climate change threatens to “intensify and extend” the degradation of ecosystem services that are essential to our wellbeing.

It is imperative that we take action to conserve ecosystems in their changed environment. WWF is developing and implementing climate adaptation projects with local communities, government agencies, local conservation and research groups, national organizations, and others.

Learn more about these adaptation projects Marine projects | Terrestrial projects | Species projects

In the U.S. and around the world, WWF scientists and field experts are confronting significant climate-related impacts in some of the most valuable and threatened ecosystems on Earth. The report notes that climate change has already pushed some ecosystems in the U.S. beyond tipping points – that is, they have been stressed to a point from which they cannot recover. Learn more about how WWF is helping people, places and species adapt to the changing climate, working at a local level to address a global crisis.

Source: The U.S. Global Change Research Program report “Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States"

Learn more about how WWF is addressing the threat of the changing climate