Earth Day: Warming & Solutions

Since 1970, all 50 U.S. states and 241 analyzed cities have warmed, with the contiguous U.S. increasing by 2.5°F. While states reduced greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 19% between 2005 and 2020, the current pace of reduction is insufficient to meet the national target of a 50% reduction by 2030.

• Temperature analysis from 1970 to 2022 shows that all 50 U.S. states and 241 out of 243 analyzed cities have warmed. The contiguous U.S. has increased in temperature by 2.5°F, which is close to the global warming limit of 2.7°F (1.5°C) agreed upon by 196 countries.
• Significant warming has occurred at the state and city levels, with 176 cities experiencing at least 2°F of warming. Alaska was the fastest-warming state with an increase of 4.3°F, and Reno, Nevada, was the fastest-warming city with an increase of 7.8°F.
• The U.S. aims to reduce emissions by 50% from 2005 levels by 2030 and reach net-zero by 2050. Although states reduced greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 19% from 2005 to 2020, the current annual reduction rate of approximately 1% is not fast enough to meet the 2030 national targets.
• Climate action varies by state, with 33 states having Climate Action Plans and 22 states having official clean energy goals.

APA

Fernández-Bou, Á. S., & Obonyo, E. (2023). Earth Day: Warming & Solutions. Climate Central. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/earth-day-warming-and-solutions-2023

Chicago

Fernández-Bou, Ángel S., and Esther Obonyo. Earth Day: Warming & Solutions. Climate Central, 2023. https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/earth-day-warming-and-solutions-2023.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Fernández-Bou |first1=Ángel S. |last2=Obonyo |first2=Esther |title=Earth Day: Warming & Solutions |publisher=Climate Central |date=19 April 2023 |url=https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/earth-day-warming-and-solutions-2023 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{fernndezbou2023earth, author = {Fernández-Bou, Ángel S. and Obonyo, Esther}, title = {{Earth Day: Warming \& Solutions}}, institution = {Climate Central}, year = {2023}, month = apr, url = {https://www.climatecentral.org/climate-matters/earth-day-warming-and-solutions-2023}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }