Part 6 of United States Climate Change Impact. Precipitation patterns are changing Precipitation is not distributed evenly over the globe. Its average distribution is governed primarily by atmospheric circulation patterns, the availability of moisture, and surface terrain effects. The first two of these factors are influenced by temperature. Thus, human-caused changes in temperature are expected […]
Part 3 of United States Climate Change Impact. Key Messages: Human activities have led to large increases in heat-trapping gases over the past century. Global average temperature and sea level have increased, and precipitation patterns have changed. The global warming of the past 50 years is due primarily to human-induced increases in heat-trapping gases. Human […]
Part 2 of United States Climate Change Impact. Observations show that warming of the climate is unequivocal. The global warming observed over the past 50 years is due primarily to human-induced emissions of heat-trapping gases. These emissions come mainly from the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and gas), with important contributions from the clearing […]
Part 1 of United States Climate Change Impact. What is this Series? this Series summarizes the science of climate change and the impacts of climate change on the United States, now and in the future. It is largely based on results of the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP), and integrates those results with related […]
With the weight of scientific data pointing to the changes in the environment due to increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases—called climate change—the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) has begun monitoring and analyzing impacts of climate change on fish and wildlife and working toward solutions to help species adapt to their changing habitats. Representing a […]