Climate Impacts Group

A New Tool for Farmers in a Changing Climate

In partnership with The Nature Conservancy, we have produced a new mapping tool that allows farmers to see modeled results of flood risk in Snohomish County during the 1980s, 2050s and 2080s. The mapped information is now available as a publicly available web app through the Coastal Resilience website. This simple tool lets farmers easily view the maps that interest them via a combination of the flood factors. You can also access the technical report by the Climate Impacts Group describing the flood modeling process. 

Climate change forces adaptation in Spokane, Pacific Northwest

Amy Snover was interviewed by the Spokesman-Review about climate change adaptation measures underway in Washington State. “There is an urgency to reduce emission so we minimize future change, but at the same time we have a responsibility to prepare for the changes we’ve already set in motion,” she said. The good news: many adaptation measures are underway across Washington state. 

Q & A: HOW WILL SNOHOMISH FARMS ENDURE CLIMATE CHANGE?

The Snohomish Conservation District recently partnered with the University of Washington Climate Impacts Group and The Nature Conservancy to model and map various historic and future flood scenarios across the Snohomish and Stillaguamish watersheds. How will these data be used and why are they important? Read a great interview with Cindy Dittbrenner, Natural Resource Program Manager for the Snohomish Conservation District, about why these data and the project’s webmap are so important for farmers in Snohomish County. 

Opinion Piece by Meade Krosby: We can change course on climate change by moving from despair to action

Climate doom got you down? CIG’s Meade Krosby shares her thoughts on why the bad news on climate change needs to be served with a healthy dollop of hope. 

“Climate Change More Urgent Than Ever”: Heidi Roop comments on new IPCC Special Report

CIG’s Heidi Roop was on KIRO 7 talking about the recent release of the new Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Special Report “Global Warming of 1.5°C” and what it means for our future in the Pacific Northwest, and beyond. 

Sea-level rise report contains best projections yet for Washington’s coasts

One certainty under climate change is that global ocean levels are rising. A new report led by Washington Sea Grant and the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group provides the clearest picture yet of what to expect in Washington state. The full report is available here on the CIG site & here on the Coastal Hazards Resilience Network. 

Harriet Morgan discusses new sea level rise report on KNKX

A new report from Washington’s “Coastal Resilience Project” provides new projections of sea level rise for 171 different sites and communities around coastal Washington state. 

Crystal Raymond on King 5 discussing innovative climate & forestry initiative

Crystal Raymond was featured on King 5 as part of an innovative climate and forest resilience project underway in King County. This project, which was part of her previous position at Seattle City Light, is a collaborative effort with the Mountains to Sound Greenway Trust, Seattle Public Utilities, the Wildlife Conversation Society and the Northwest Natural Resource Group.

Guillaume Mauger featured by King5 discussing sea level rise, storm events and future climate

“Rising seas will threaten more than 7,000 Washington homes by 2045, according to a new report by the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS). Accelerating melt from the Antarctic ice sheet is predicted to cause more frequent and more powerful storms to hammer coastal communities, amounting to potentially billions of dollars of damage over the next several decades.” CIG’s Guillaume Mauger talks climate impacts, the frequency of coastal storms and the influence of the Antarctic ice sheet on sea level rise in WA state with King5’s Giuliana Viglione.

“The difference between the 100-year storm and the ten or two-year storm is pretty minor,” says Guillaume Mauger, a research scientist at the University of Washington’s Climate Impacts Group. 

Ready Or Not: UW Scientist Says Assumptions About Climate Could Impact Local Infrastructure

Amy Snover was interviewed on Rhode Island Public Radio about climate impacts, infrastructure and the need to prepare for the future in a climate-smart way.