Climate Change & You

What Do We Know?

Here in Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we are noticing a warmer, wetter climate. This increase is consistent with scientific global models for Earth's climate system. We know this because people have measured temperature and precipitation data in Wisconsin for over a century. Annual average temperatures have increased. Temperatures are expected to increase more. Extreme wet weather events have increased. More frequent intense wet weather is expected. Why? The two are related. More heat trapped in Earth's atmosphere means warmer air that can hold more water vapor. At its most basic, more moisture in warmer air intensifies storms.

To learn more about climate change impacts locally and what we can do to respond, read the Wisconsin Initiative on Climate Change Impacts summary report. It is short and has lots of pictures. It links to other sources good for further research. WICCI notes other important already observed and predicted trends for our region including earlier springs, drier summers, warmer low overnight temperatures, and warmer wetter winters.