Climate Impacts Group

Climate Impacts Group Contributes to Recommendations on Washington Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report

The Washington state legislature tasked the Washington state Department of Ecology, with support from the Climate Impacts Group, to analyze recent national and international climate reports and provide recommendations to Washington lawmakers on whether to amend Washington state’s statutory limits on greenhouse gas emissions (RCW 70A.45.040).

National and international reports on climate change, like the fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report (IPCC AR6) provide broad information on climate change impacts for the nation and globe. Though useful, this information is often too broad to inform local-scale climate resilience efforts in Washington state.

Previous reports on climate impacts for Washington state have focused on assessing changes at future time periods (e.g., 2050s) and under specific future climate scenarios. 

Can fall 2025 get Washington out of its dry streak?

Even though this spring and summer had fewer days above 90 degrees than other hot years, it was also the third driest on record, on top of below-normal rainfall since the 2024 water year started. Washington will need more than above-normal precipitation this winter to make up for the precipitation deficit of the last three years. Washington State Deputy Climatologist Karin Bumbaco is quoted.  

Ecology debunks federal climate report, reaffirms commitment to real science

The Washington Department of Ecology issued an official rebuke of a draft report by the U.S. Department of Energy being used to justify the Trump Administration’s rollback of federal climate regulations. At the same time, Ecology also released a new analysis that details worsening local impacts now and in the future due to rising global emissions. The Climate Impacts Group IPCC AR6 and NCA5 assessment is cited.  

It’s hot out there! Western Washington endures late summer heatwave

Heatwaves in August were experienced regionally in August. Late summer high temperatures are magnified by a lack of rain, which has become more common in the Northwest during the summer months. Deputy State Climatologist Karin Bumbaco is quoted.  

La Niña is over. What’s in the fall and winter forecast for Western Washington?

Fall and winter in Bellingham, and the rest of Western Washington, could be closer to seasonal norms, as last winter’s La Niña weather pattern — now in a neutral phase — is expected to return half-heartedly late in the year. Deputy State Climatologist Karin Bumbaco is quoted.  

How does your WA neighborhood rank for ‘tree equity’? Check this map

A new online tool, developed by conservation nonprofit American Forests and the Washington Department of Natural Resources, lets Washington residents explore where [summer heat] inequities exist. Climate Impacts Group’s report In the Hot Seat is mentioned.  

6 ways WA’s warming mountains are changing — and what could be lost

Humans expected that a region like the Pacific Northwest would only ever grow so cold or hot, so wet or dry. But the range of these limits is expanding, pushing our world toward more extremes. In this story, Seattle Times journalists document some of these changes already underway in our melting mountains — shifts and species threats that will continue to intensify if fossil fuel emissions are not controlled and the planet continues to warm. The UW’s Climate Impacts Group is referenced. 

Friday soaker nowhere near enough to pull WA from drought

Washington was slumped in a drought even before the summer began. The rain that began falling early Friday was a welcome sight, but it won’t be near enough to overcome the long-standing deficit. State Climatologist Guillaume Mauger is mentioned.  

Smoke, sprinklers, aluminum foil: Fighting fire on the Olympic Peninsula

Extreme heat launched the Bear Gulch Fire across 2,000 additional acres of forest on Tuesday and Wednesday, pouring thick smoke on the Hood Canal communities of Hoodsport and Skokomish, Washington. In the three months leading up to the fire, Lake Cushman received 30% of its normal 9.4 inches of rainfall. State Climatologist Guillaume Mauger is mentioned.  

Amid a hot and smoky Pacific Northwest summer, communities seek innovative and collaborative solutions to build resilience

Against [the] backdrop of escalating climate risk, C2ES recently traveled to Seattle, Washington to kick off the second regional Climate Resilient Communities Accelerator. The first in-person convening of the South-Central Puget Sound Accelerator focused on extreme heat and wildfire smoke impacts in the region. State Climatologist Guillaume Mauger is mentioned.