Climate Change in the Adirondacks...
There are two main ways we can talk about changes in climate; we can focus on how much the region's climate has changed, and we can talk about how much the region's climate is projected to change.
How much has the area's climate changed?
WINTER TEMPERATURE TRENDS – ADIRONDACK CLIMATE DIVISION
This chart, excerpted from The Adirondack Atlas, shows how average temperatures in December, January and February have changed in the years over the last century.
The data originates from the Historic Climate Network stations in the Adirondack and Tug Hill climate division of northern New York. For a bigger, higher resolution picture that includes adjacent climate divisions, click here. The common trend in Northern New York climate divisions is that temperatures increased in the first part of the century, dropped slightly mid-century, and have climbed steadily since about 1965. The mid-century cooling was the result of the impact that high concentrations of sulfur in the earth’s atmosphere had on reflecting sunlight. The passage of the Clean Air Act, which limited sulfur emissions, had the unintentional consequence of putting this warming trend back on track.
The historical data that we have from the historical climante network stations in the park dates back to 1895 in some locations. This data gives a record of actual observations over the last century.
It shows that, for the core Adirondack climate division, annual temperatures have increased by 2 degrees F over the last century, while winter temperatures have increased by 3.8 degrees F. These numbers are higher than the New York statewide averages, which show 1 degree F of annual warming and 2.3 degrees F of warming in winter months.
What do the numbers mean?
Both in thinking about historical observations of changes in climate (above) and looking at projections of future climate change (below), we see numbers that seem small and are hard to relate to. Since most of us experience temperature fluctuations of ten or twenty degrees without giving it much thought, changes of a few degrees seem relatively insignificant. One way to think about these is to consider the consequences of historical changes. But here is another way to think about changes in average temperatures: The average annual temperature of the earth is only 8 degrees Celsius (14 degrees Fahrenheit) warmer today than it was during the last ice age. So a relatively small number of degrees can have quite a huge impact on our environment and our ability to function and thrive.
How is the region's climate going to change?
Scientists believe that in a hundred years the Adirondacks may have a climate like that of the Smokies today. These projections are based on outputs from global climate models. No regional climate models exist, but scientists use the global models to statistically downscale the results for regional variations.
Click here to explore the past climates for stations within the Adirondacks.
Click here to explore the future climate projections for stations within the Adirondacks.