Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States

The document details how rising temperatures in the Northwest are reducing springtime snowpack and shifting streamflow timing, which threatens water supplies, hydropower production, and salmon populations. It also highlights risks of increased forest fires, pest infestations, and coastal erosion due to sea-level rise, particularly in the Puget Sound region.

• Regional temperatures rose approximately 1.5ºF over the last century, with some areas seeing increases up to 4ºF, and are projected to rise another 3 to 10ºF this century.
• Declining springtime snowpack is reducing summer water availability; April 1 snowpack in the Cascade Mountains declined by about 25 percent over the last 40 to 70 years and may decline by as much as 40 percent by the 2040s.
• The timing of spring runoff is shifting earlier, with observed shifts of 25 to 30 days in some areas and projected further shifts of 20 to 40 days this century, which may increase winter flooding and summer drought risk.
• Sea-level rise is expected to cause land loss and erosion along the Northwest coast, with the south Puget Sound region—including Seattle, Tacoma, and Olympia—being particularly vulnerable; relative sea-level rise in the Puget Sound basin is estimated at 13 inches by 2100, though it could reach 50 inches.
• Climate change threatens regional energy and ecology: hydropower production may be limited by water shortages, forest fire risks are increasing due to moisture deficits and pine beetle infestations, and approximately one-third of current habitat for Northwest salmon and cold-water fish may become unsuitable by the end of the century.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2009). Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/us-global-climate-change-report-northwest.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States. 2009. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/us-global-climate-change-report-northwest.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States |date=2009 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/us-global-climate-change-report-northwest.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2009global, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{Global Climate Change Impacts in the United States}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2009}, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/us-global-climate-change-report-northwest.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }