Climate Impacts Group

Integrating Climate Adaptation into Water System Planning: CIG’s Collaboration with WA Dept. of Health

HB1181 tasked the Climate Impacts Group with supporting DOH’s development of the WSP CRE, recently published in the updated Water System Planning Guidebook. Resources developed as part of this effort include the supplemental DOH WSP Climate Resilience Element workbook and a webpage with curated resources. “This new requirement provides an important opportunity to connect water system practitioners with a broad array of established tools and resources designed to strengthen system resilience to emerging climate-related risks,” describes Ryan Hasert, CIG Scientist and co-author of the CRE.

Funding Opportunity for Washington Coastal Tribes

The Climate Impacts Group is launching a small grants program, the Washington Coastal resilience and Adaptation Funding for Tribes (WA-CRAFT), to support the climate adaptation work of Washington coastal Tribes. In alignment with our commitment to honor Tribal sovereignty and self-determination, the program was co-designed with Tribal partners. Guided by their feedback, the program is designed to be non-competitive, low-barrier, and unrestricted to maximize flexibility and accessibility of funds.

In this time of funding uncertainty, we are honored to support the original stewards of this land as they continue their vital work—work that has sustained Tribal communities since time immemorial.

Learn more and apply by August 11, 2025 

UW Libraries hosting alternative access to federal climate data

In light of growing concerns for the continued availability of federal climate data and tools, we would like to point you toward an ongoing effort at UW Libraries to gather alternative links to federal climate resources and websites. 

You can find a current list of these alternative access links at UW Libraries. This list includes links to archived versions of government webpages (for example, via the GovWayback archive and others) as well as a section titled ‘Climate, energy, & environmental data’ which lists access links for various climate datasets and tools. This list is by no means comprehensive and is likely to expand. 

CIG Update: Termination of the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative

Dear supporters of the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group,

We are deeply saddened to report that the Acting Director of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Grants Management Division sent a letter on May 5th terminating the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative (NCRC), effective immediately. The NCRC, a NOAA Climate Adaptation Partnership (CAP) program, was the Climate Impacts Group (CIG)’s largest source of funding to work with rural communities and Tribes across Washington, Oregon, and Idaho to adapt and build resilience to climate impacts such as extreme heat, flooding, drought, and sea level rise.

CIG has hosted the NCRC, a collaboration among academic institutions and Tribal- and community-based organizations, since 2021. 

CIG Update: Federal Funding Uncertainty & Potential Program Impacts

Dear supporters of the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group, 

We appreciate the role each of you has played in our collective efforts to help make communities, Washington state, and the Pacific Northwest more resilient to extreme weather events, climate variability, and climate change over the past 30 years.  

We wanted to share with each of you an update regarding federal funding for two of our programs: 1) the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative (NCRC), a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) funded Climate Adaptation Partnership program, and 2) the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center (NW CASC), a federal-consortium partnership funded by the US Geological Survey (USGS). 

Susan Dickerson-Lange Joins UW Climate Impacts Group as the New Director

The Climate Impacts Group (CIG) has named Susan Dickerson-Lange as its new director. In her role, Dickerson-Lange will provide strategic leadership for CIG, driving financial stewardship and fundraising while supporting the team to deepen partnerships and expand offerings advancing climate resilience in the Pacific Northwest.

New report from Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative shares both barriers and paths to climate resilience for Northwest Coastal Tribes

Along the Washington and Oregon coasts, rising sea levels and changes in ocean chemistry are combining with increasing river floods and other land-based impacts of climate change. These changes hold serious consequences for coastal communities, aquatic ecosystems, fisheries and infrastructure. 

The Tribal Coastal Resilience Portfolio of the Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative conducted an assessment over two years to better understand the state of climate adaptation among Northwest coastal Tribes, and to elevate Tribes’ experience of key barriers and needs which, if addressed, could help advance Tribal resilience.

The assessment was informed by a review of Tribal climate documents and other relevant reports, as well as a series of listening sessions with Tribal staff, citizens and elected officials. 

Washington State Climatologist’s Office Joins Forces with Climate Impacts Group for Enhanced Climate Action

Following two decades of close collaboration, we are excited to announce that the Office of the Washington State Climatologist is joining the UW Climate Impacts Group. With a shared commitment to advancing climate services, this collaboration marks a significant step towards a more unified approach to addressing climate-related challenges in our state and region. 

This strategic decision brings together two leading organizations dedicated to understanding the region’s weather and its impacts on time scales of days to decades. The Office of the Washington State Climatologist has long been recognized for its expertise in interpreting and contextualizing today’s weather and climate trends within the broader context of climate change. 

Now Open! Call for Abstracts and Sessions at Virtual Northwest Climate Conference, October 2-4

Organizers of the 12th Northwest Climate Conference (NWCC) are now accepting abstract and session proposal submissions for this year’s Conference, to be hosted virtually by Boise State University on October 2-4, 2023. For more than a decade, this conference has provided a networking and learning community for practitioners, scientists, tribal members and community organizers interested in climate change impacts and adaptation in the Northwest.

SUBMIT ABSTRACT OR SESSION PROPOSAL 

Climate Impacts Group & partners release report in English and Spanish aimed at preventing heat-related illness and death in Washington

Texto en español a continuación

Two years ago, in the summer of 2021, Washington experienced the deadliest weather disaster in the state’s history with days of record-breaking heat. More Washingtonians died from heat exposure each day during the 2021 heat dome than die from heat exposure in a typical summer.

The devastating impacts of the heat dome, coupled with projections that extreme heat events will be more frequent and more intense as the climate changes, serve as a call to action to address heat vulnerability across our state. 

In the hot seat: Saving lives from extreme heat in Washington state describes the problem of extreme heat and outlines specific, actionable guidance for short-term emergency response and long-term risk reduction.