Climate Impacts Group

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. 

Microsoft, Amazon Urge Climate Mitigation At Wash. Summit

Washington’s insurance industry took a look at the threat of climate change in a summit that included input from executives at Microsoft and Amazon. Amy Snover, who spoke at the summit, is quoted.

“[Climate impacts] will reshape our communities and ecosystems in the Northwest, and climate change matters for all of these communities and ecosystems because they were built and they evolved to cope with the climate of the past. Climate change shifts the foundation of everything that we depend on and everything that’s around us.” – Amy Snover 

Changing climate, changing health

Climate change is likely to produce a warmer, wetter world with more natural disasters. Those changes can affect both our mental and our physical health. Dr. Amy Snover is quoted. 

NW Climate Resilience Collaborative

Ten nonprofit, community and university groups have banded together in a new Northwest Climate Resilience Collaborative. The project will advance the efforts of frontline communities in Washington, Oregon, Idaho and Montana to adapt to climate change.  

Outdoor recreation industry fears for future as these changes impact the North Cascades

As climate change alters the fabric of the Pacific Northwest, increasing the frequency and severity of heatwaves, wildfires and precipitation extremes, outdoor recreation outfitters are scrambling to adapt their business models to shorter seasons and unpredictable conditions. CIG science is referenced.  

Tacoma’s Owen Beach undergoing makeover to protect against rising sea levels

Construction is underway to redesign Owen Beach in Tacoma to make it more resilient against rising sea levels. Research by the UW Climate Impacts Group is referenced.  

Climate change reaps another victim: Mount Rainier’s snowpack

Snow on Mount Rainier is melting earlier and in greater quantities as temperatures rise. Guillaume Mauger is quoted.  

What drives big wildfires in western Washington? This meteorological phenomenon is a factor

Western Washington doesn’t always get strong east winds, but when the winds do arrive, they can lead to huge wildfires. This story references research funded by the Northwest Climate Adaptation Science Center.  

UN climate report: Human activity is driving climate change. Where does that leave Washington?

The UN-appointed Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its Sixth Assessment Report, known as the AR6 WG1, on August 9, 2021. It addresses the current state of the global climate, how climate change is shifting, how humans are the leading cause, and possible climate futures. Matt Rogers is quoted.

“In my research I have seen a lot of people on the ground in Washington state take climate change into consideration and how they prepare their communities for upcoming changes and what we can expect as climate changes. It is really heartening. We can always do more, and there are people working on it, but it’s going to take all of us.” – Matt Rogers 

‘Every part of a degree of warming that we can avert will make the future better’

Researcher Amy Snover explains why the IPCC report matters, what it says about climate change in the Northwest, and how communities can prepare.

“This will just keep getting worse until we stop it,” Snover said. “The science is really clear that every bit, every part of a degree of additional warming makes the future worse, which means that every part of a degree of warming that we can avert will make the future better. I do this work because the future isn’t written yet. We’re actually writing it every day we live, and I want to be part of making the future better.”