The South’s deepening climate crisis

The new federal report describes the impacts that man-made climate change is already having on the various regions of the United States, and it warns of dramatic disruptions on the way if we fail to reduce carbon pollution significantly and soon.

The study documents the changes that have already taken place across the country including in the Southeast, which the report defines as stretching from Virginia south and west to the Texas Gulf Coast. The changes already experienced in the Southeast include:

* An 2 degree F. increase in the average annual temperature since 1970;
* A four- to seven-day decline in the number of freezing days for most of the region since the mid-1970s;
* A 30% increase in average autumn precipitation;
* An increase in heavy downpours; and
* An increase in the area experiencing moderate to severe drought.

Climate models predict continued warming across the Southeast for all seasons, with the increase expected to be double that experienced since 1975. The greatest increases are likely to come in the summer, with the number of very hot days projected to rise faster than the average temperature.

Even if steps are taken to hold down emissions, average temperatures in the Southeast are still expected to rise by about 4.5 degrees F. by the 2080s. But higher emissions could results in a temperature increase of about 9 degrees F. on average in the region, with about a 10.5 degree F. increase in summer.

The study predicts more intense Atlantic hurricanes with higher winds, heavier rainfall and greater storm surge. But even if hurricanes don’t increase in intensity, the report says, “coastal inundation and shoreline retreat would increase as sea-level rise accelerates, which is one of the most certain and most costly consequences of a warming climate.”

Across the country, U.S. climate justice activists are working to strengthen the watered-down climate legislation currently being considered in Congress. The Southern Alliance for Clean Energy and 1Sky are planning a national day of action this Friday, June 19 aimed at strengthening the bill.