Climate Impacts Group

2016: Another year of record warmth for the globe

Two separate studies by NOAA and NASA show that in 2016 both globally-averaged land surface temperature and sea surface temperature were the highest on record since record keeping began in 1880. 

Meade Krosby on KUOW | Annual Bird Count Opens A Window Into Climate Change

The Christmas Bird Count has helped scientists figure out how birds are responding to climate change, says Meade Krosby, a biologist at the University of Washington.

“The Christmas Bird Count is actually one of the most powerful data sets that we have that demonstrate that birds’ ranges are changing,” she explains. “You can see these really dramatic shifts in their winter ranges on average moving northward. And that’s what we expect. We know that, on average, globally, species’ ranges have moved poleward.” 

MoNA exhibit “Surge” joins climate scientists and artists

University of Washington scientists who are members of the Skagit Climate Science Consortium collaborated with artists for an exhibit, “Surge,” that will run through this weekend (9/25) at the Museum of Northwest Art in La Conner, Washington. Guillaume Mauger, a research scientist in the UW’s Climate Impacts Group, Dave Peterson, a UW affiliate professor of environmental and forest sciences, and Christina Bandaragoda, a UW research scientist in civil and environmental engineering, were among scientists who consulted with artists on their creations for a first-time exhibit focusing on climate change and its impacts on Northwest coastal communities. 

NASA analysis finds July 2016 is warmest on record

July 2016 was the warmest July in 136 years of modern record-keeping, according to a monthly analysis of global temperatures by scientists at NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS) in New York. The monthly analysis by the GISS team is assembled from publicly available data acquired by about 6,300 meteorological stations around the world, ship- and buoy-based instruments measuring sea surface temperature, and Antarctic research stations. 

For the PNW, how costly is climate change? Experts weigh in

The success of The Seattle Times LiveWire event series continued with “Endangered Economy: The high cost of climate change,” an enlightening forum about the impact of climate change on the Pacific Northwest economy. A panel of local and national experts, including CIG’s Deputy Director – Joe Casola, discussed how our region can take steps to protect a sustainable future for marine life, forestry, agriculture and the billion dollar industries that depend on their growth.