A new study includes an interactive map that shows how your home will be affected by climate change in the next 50 years. No surprise —Idaho and the Mountain West will get hotter.
An increase of three degrees celsius is what we’re on track for if we don’t reduce emissions. That doesn’t sound like much but ...
"A three degree C increase in temperature globally can mean a whole lot of climate change for different places," says Matt Fitzpatrick, an environmental scientist with the University of Maryland who co-authored the study. He wanted to make “three degrees celsius” tangible. So you can plug in your city to the map, and see what you can expect in 2080.
"Places in the west are moving south and to the southwest," says Fitzpatrick. "So warmer, drier and different seasonal distributions of precipitation."
But that’s under the “high emissions” scenario, or a three-degree increase.
The map also offers the option to click on what happens if we start reducing emissions now - the outlook for that is better.
Find reporter Amanda Peacher on Twitter @amandapeacher.
Copyright 2019 Boise State Public Radio
This story was produced by the Mountain West News Bureau, a collaboration between Wyoming Public Media, Boise State Public Radio in Idaho, KUER in Salt Lake City and KRCC and KUNC in Colorado.
