Oct 8, 2006 By Jennifer Harr 5 min read

Think six extra weeks of summer in the region sounds like a dream come true? Then you’d better read the fine print.

Those extra days can bring with them temperatures topping 100 degrees, aggravation for health issues, droughts and trouble with the eco-system as a whole, according to findings released earlier this week by the Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA).

The study focuses on the Northeastern states, which include Pennsylvania, and paints a picture of what will come to pass if the nine states in the block don’t work to reduce heat-increasing emissions.

Dr. Cameron Wake said that the Earth’s climate has changed throughout history, but as humans advanced and their technology became greater, so did their effect on those changes. Driving cars, heating homes and a myriad of other things use fossil fuels, said Wake, associate professor at the University of New Hampshire’s Climate Change Research Center and co-lead of the report.

Those fuels, most typically coal, gas and oil, release heat-trapping gases into the atmosphere, causing a bump in the temperature.

Emissions already have had some effect on the climate, Wake said. Thirty years ago, Northeastern states saw 15 to 20 more days where snow blanketed the ground, and the temperature in winter was 4 degrees colder.

And while higher temperatures and less snowfall may sound like a treat to some, such conditions bring with them consequences. Snowfall could plummet by 50 percent under the continued rate of emissions. But rising mercury coupled with less snow and precipitation levels holding steady could equal longer and more intense droughts, according to the study.

The study predicted that if emissions aren’t curtailed by the end of the century, Pennsylvania’s climate might be akin to Georgia’s. By 2100, Pittsburgh eventually could have 66 days each year above 90 degrees and 24 days over 100 degrees.

Currently, Pittsburgh averages nine days over 90 degrees and one day over 100 degrees each year.

“If we stick to fossil fuel use … we better start putting some sugar in our tea because the Northeast is going to start feeling like the American South,” said Katharine Hayhoe, research associate professor in the Department of Geosciences at Texas Tech University and co-lead of the report.

By the end of the century, heightened temperatures could mean six more weeks of summer. It sounds like a dream, but the higher temperatures lead to higher evaporation, which means fall and summer droughts, she said.

“Couple the very hot summers with not a lot of change in rainfall, and under the higher (emissions) scenario, we could have a drought of one to three months once a season. The choices we make today and in the near future will affect what the Northeast looks like. Do we want to continue to use fossil fuels … or do we want to encourage ourselves, each other and our government to look for alternative sources?” Hayhoe asked.

In the immediate, the temperature will slightly increase, but for the long haul – think end of the century – people in the Northeast do have a say in how high the temperature will go.

Instead of using fossil fuels like coal, gas and oil, Hayhoe said people and businesses need to look toward alternative energy sources like wind power.

Dr. William Moomaw, professor and director of the Center for International Environment and Resource Policy at Tufts University in Massachusetts, said the nine Northeast states (Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania) are the seventh-largest emitter of heat trapping gasses in the world.

Those gasses come from transportation, electric power production and building and industry emissions.

To cut down on transportation emissions, Moomaw suggested driving fewer miles or using hybrid cars that get their go from cleaner burning bio fuels.

Wind power could provide electric energy and simple things like buying more efficient light bulbs or updating an old, less-efficient furnace could help cut emissions, Moomaw said.

Older buildings need to be updated to make them energy efficient, Moomaw said.

“The near-term emissions choices we make in the Northeast and throughout the world will help determine the climate and quality of life our children and grandchildren experience,” Wake said

If emissions aren’t cut, by the end of the century, temperatures will increase from 6.5 to 12.5 degrees. If emissions are cut, the temperature will still increase, but by 3.5 to 6.5 degrees, the study predicted.

“We can set a precedent for the nation and for the world, and let our grandchildren have a better future,” said Dr. Peter Frumhoff, director of the Global Environment Program at UCS, and chairman of the report’s synthesis team.

The study, called Climate Change in the Northeast, took two years, and focused on predicting what could occur if emissions across the region don’t decrease.

The NECIA is a collaboration between the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) and a team of independent scientists from across the Northeast and the nation.