Climate change increases heat waves, floods: EPA
Reporting by Timothy Gardner; Editing by Cynthia Osterman
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – Deaths from heat waves, property damage from floods and rising seas from melting glaciers are a few of the things Americans can expect as a result of climate change, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said in a report released Tuesday. The report, called Climate Change Indicators in the United States [pdf], examined the impact of global warming on 24 environmental indicators, such as ice cover and ocean temperatures. It said there was scientific evidence that climate change was making 22 of the 24 indicators worse. For instance, eight of the top 10 years for extreme one-day floods or heavy snowfalls in the United States have occurred since 1990, the report said. In addition heat waves have increased steadily since the end of the 1970s. “For society, increases in temperature are likely to increase heat-related illnesses and deaths, especially in urban areas,” said the report, which relied on data from a variety of U.S. and international agencies and sources. … The report found that the science surrounding some indicators is too young to conclude climate change is making them worse. For instance, from 2001 to 2009 some 30 to 60 percent of the U.S. land area experienced drought conditions at any one time, it said. But the data have not been collected long enough to determine whether droughts are increasing over time, it added. Overall, however, the indicators will likely get worse. …
