World Politics News   Articles for World Politics Course

One of the wonderful aspects of living in New England is that the region experiences four very different seasons, ranging from hot and humid summers (which I hate) to bitter cold and snowy winters (my favorite season is the fall). Recent research, published in the journal, Climate, suggests that the New England climate may lose that distinctiveness.

“New England appears to be warming faster than the world as a whole. It is clear from the research that New England has warmed past the 1.5 °C level, which the IPCC has set as a do-not-pass threshold for the world [5], and New England is close to passing the 2 °C level. Regions in the higher latitudes, such as New England, are generally warming faster than the world as a whole. It is also clear from the research that, over the past few decades, the colder temperatures (minimum temperatures and winter temperatures) are warming the fastest. This might be a reason why people in New England are not as aware, or are not as concerned, about the warming temperatures, as they would be if the hottest (maximum and summer season) temperatures were warming the fastest….

“New England’s rising temperatures are diminishing the distinct seasonality of the region by vastly reducing winter’s cold temperatures as well as increasing temperatures in all of the other seasons. The differences between the four seasons is decreasing. Rising temperatures have resulted in a change in snow cover in the winter. Every decade between 1965 and 2005, New England has lost nine snow-cover days due to less precipitation falling as snow and from the snow melting faster…”

The Boston Globe outlines the significance of the changes:

“The warming in the region already has exceeded a threshold set by the Paris Climate Accord, in which nearly 200 nations agreed to cut their emissions in an effort to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius. If global temperatures exceed that amount, the damage from intensifying storms, rising sea levels, droughts, forest fires, and other natural disasters is likely to be catastrophic, scientists say.

“With New England’s annual temperatures expected to rise sharply in the coming decades, the authors of the study said the region should expect major disruptions to its economy, including coastal waters that will become increasingly inhospitable to iconic species such as cod and lobster; fewer days when skiing and other winter recreation will be possible; less maple syrup and other agricultural products produced; and a range of other consequences.”

Fortunately, New England does not yet display some of the more catastrophic dimensions of climate change such as large, uncontrollable wildfires as seen in the American West or the flooding experienced in the American South and Southeast. But the trend is unmistakably clear that the New England climate is changing dramatically and it is difficult to predict what those changes might entail.