Climate Impacts Group

Workshop with authors of the National Climate Assessment (including CIG scientists!)

You’re invited to share your thoughts on the climate change-related issues most important to you and the Northwest region at the National Climate Assessment: Northwest Chapter Engagement Workshop on February 1, 2022! This virtual session will be led by the authors of the Northwest chapter of the Fifth National Climate Change Assessment, including two Climate Impacts Group scientists. Discussions in the workshop will help shape the topics addressed in the Assessment, and provide the authors with ideas of how the Assessment could be more useful for decision-making. 

Event details:

National Climate Assessment: Northwest Chapter Engagement Workshop

Tuesday, February 1, 2022

9:30 a.m.–2 p.m. 

New Chapter for CIG Researcher Harriet Morgan  

After seven years with the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, Harriet Morgan is leaving to start a new chapter as the Climate Coordinator for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW). In her new role, Harriet will be collaborating with internal and external partners to facilitate the development and implementation of a coordinated agency response to the impacts of climate change. This includes building off the agency’s recently developed report ‘Preparing Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife for a Changing Climate: Assessing Risks and Opportunities for Action.’

As a Research Scientist with the Climate Impacts Group, Harriet has been involved in many facets of climate resiliency across the region—from planning to implementation. 

CIG Director Amy Snover to present at Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference

Dr. Amy Snover will present her talk, “Facing Climate Change in Cascadia,” at the Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference Wednesday, November 17 at 10:25 a.m. The conference, held over two days on November 16 and 17, will bring together business, academic and government leaders from the B.C. region and Washington and Oregon States. United States Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm, British Columbia’s Premier John Horgan and Washington State Governor Jay Inslee are among the list of speakers. This year, the annual conference will be held in-person in Vancouver, B.C. with the option to attend-online.

Event details: 

Cascadia Innovation Corridor Conference
Tuesday, November 16, noon-6 p.m. 

Clearing the air

Amy Snover, director of the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group, discusses how to talk publicly about—and more importantly, act upon—climate change.  

Hydropower decline adds strain to power grids in drought

Severe drought across the West drained reservoirs this year, slashing hydropower production and further stressing the region’s power grids. And as extreme weather becomes more common with climate change, grid operators are adapting to swings in hydropower generation. Dr. Crystal Raymond is quoted. 

Announcing two Spanish-language reports on climate impacts in Washington

The UW Climate Impacts Group and several community partners are excited to share two Spanish-language reports on the impacts of climate change for Washington State. The reports — Sin Tiempo Que Perder and Cambiando las Líneas de Nieve y las Líneas de Costa — were originally published in English in 2018 and 2020, and are written for a general audience including policy makers, community organizers, journalists and the public.

Warmer temperatures, more severe floods, intensifying wildfires — the impacts of a changing climate are already being felt across Washington, and affect some communities disproportionately. We must engage and mobilize all communities to make real progress in preparing for the effects of climate change. 

I want to fly to Hawaii, but I don’t want to wreck the planet. With carbon offsets, can I do both?

CIG Director Dr. Amy Snover is among six experts in climate change, sustainability and green technology interviewed about carbon offsets.  

Forest fires impact on water quality

Day two of the National Academies of Sciences discussions focused on how climate change, notably forest fires, could affect the water quality of Lake Coeur d’Alene. Research Scientist Dr. Guillaume Mauger is quoted.  

CIG launches new tool and webinar for climate-smart stormwater design

The UW Climate Impacts Group has released an online tool to help stormwater and wastewater managers in the Northwest design and operate with climate change in mind. Developed in collaboration with the City of Portland, City of Gresham and Clackamas County, all in Oregon — and building on previous collaborations in Washington State — the tool provides new localized projections of changing heavy rain events through the end of the 21st century.

Interested in learning more about how to use the tool? Check out our May 20 webinar, featuring UW Climate Impacts Group Scientists Harriet Morgan and Guillaume Mauger, and King County’s Jeff Burkey and Bob Swarner. 

New Resource for Water and Drought Management: 2020 PNW Water Year Assessment

The 2020 Pacific Northwest Water Year Assessment summarizes the water year conditions and connects these conditions with impacts experienced by farmers, water managers, fisheries managers, and more. This assessment was developed in conjunction with the annual water year meeting in October 2020. The authors will develop a similar assessment each year as part of the water year review and they hope it will serve as a resource for managing drought and other climate-related impacts.

Two of the lead authors on the report – Crystal Raymond and Karin Bumbaco – are from the UW Climate Impacts Group and the Office of the Washington State Climatologist, respectively.