Climate Impacts Group

The Attacks on Science Continue—This Time at the USGS

Through a massive budget slashing proposal, the Trump administration is threatening [the USGS] by defunding the agency’s biology programs. With a 90 percent cut to its budget, the Ecosystems Mission Area (EMA) would have a mere $29 million to spend next year. The move would be disastrous to this biological research arm of the Interior Department, where scientists monitor the changes to plants and animal populations occurring across the country. Senior scientist Meade Krosby is quoted.  

Glacierless Peak? The icy realms of Washington’s North Cascades lose their cool

Statewide, the summer of 2025 (June-August) was the fourth-warmest and the seventh-driest since 1895. Glacier Peak is trending to be essentially glacierless within 50 years. Engagement Climatologist Jacob Genuise is mentioned. 

Climate Impacts Group Contributes to Recommendations on Washington Greenhouse Gas Emissions Report

The Washington state legislature tasked the Washington state Department of Ecology, with support from the Climate Impacts Group, to analyze recent national and international climate reports and provide recommendations to Washington lawmakers on whether to amend Washington state’s statutory limits on greenhouse gas emissions (RCW 70A.45.040).

National and international reports on climate change, like the fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5) and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s sixth assessment report (IPCC AR6) provide broad information on climate change impacts for the nation and globe. Though useful, this information is often too broad to inform local-scale climate resilience efforts in Washington state.

Previous reports on climate impacts for Washington state have focused on assessing changes at future time periods (e.g., 2050s) and under specific future climate scenarios. 

Scientists warn ‘warm blob’ anomaly in Pacific Ocean could make this winter brutal

Something strange is happening in the Pacific Ocean. South of Alaska, sea surface temperatures started surging well above average this summer. The “warm blob” is back, and it has implications for marine life and winter weather. Emeritus State Climatologist Nick Bond is quoted.  

Can fall 2025 get Washington out of its dry streak?

Even though this spring and summer had fewer days above 90 degrees than other hot years, it was also the third driest on record, on top of below-normal rainfall since the 2024 water year started. Washington will need more than above-normal precipitation this winter to make up for the precipitation deficit of the last three years. Washington State Deputy Climatologist Karin Bumbaco is quoted.  

Ecology debunks federal climate report, reaffirms commitment to real science

The Washington Department of Ecology issued an official rebuke of a draft report by the U.S. Department of Energy being used to justify the Trump Administration’s rollback of federal climate regulations. At the same time, Ecology also released a new analysis that details worsening local impacts now and in the future due to rising global emissions. The Climate Impacts Group IPCC AR6 and NCA5 assessment is cited.  

It’s hot out there! Western Washington endures late summer heatwave

Heatwaves in August were experienced regionally in August. Late summer high temperatures are magnified by a lack of rain, which has become more common in the Northwest during the summer months. Deputy State Climatologist Karin Bumbaco is quoted.  

La Niña is over. What’s in the fall and winter forecast for Western Washington?

Fall and winter in Bellingham, and the rest of Western Washington, could be closer to seasonal norms, as last winter’s La Niña weather pattern — now in a neutral phase — is expected to return half-heartedly late in the year. Deputy State Climatologist Karin Bumbaco is quoted.  

How does your WA neighborhood rank for ‘tree equity’? Check this map

A new online tool, developed by conservation nonprofit American Forests and the Washington Department of Natural Resources, lets Washington residents explore where [summer heat] inequities exist. Climate Impacts Group’s report In the Hot Seat is mentioned.  

6 ways WA’s warming mountains are changing — and what could be lost

Humans expected that a region like the Pacific Northwest would only ever grow so cold or hot, so wet or dry. But the range of these limits is expanding, pushing our world toward more extremes. In this story, Seattle Times journalists document some of these changes already underway in our melting mountains — shifts and species threats that will continue to intensify if fossil fuel emissions are not controlled and the planet continues to warm. The UW’s Climate Impacts Group is referenced.