Climate change expected to increase state temps by 5.9 degrees
The state Department of Environmental Protection said Wednesday that climate change will increase the temperature by 5.8 degrees and bring more rainfall and flooding by mid-century.
DEP Secretary Patrick McDonnell said climate change would lead to an 8% increase in rainfall and that the temperature increase could lead to a “catastrophic risk from heat waves.”
“We’ve got to work now to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” McDonnell said during a live-streamed meeting with the media.
The predictions came from a study, Pennsylvania Climate Impacts Assessment 2021, that used federal, state and local data to show the trends from rising temperatures.
“We simply cannot afford to ignore the warning signs, and this report underscores the critical need to take action to reduce emissions and do our part to address climate change,” Gov. Tom Wolf stated in a news release.
Cindy Dunn, secretary of the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, said climate change will affect plants and wildlife and recreation, especially winter sports.
Dunn said the state’s snow cover already has declined dramatically over the past decades.
Agriculture Secretary Russell Redding said invasive species have been showing up on farmland and that trend will continue.
“What we grow, when we plant and when we harvest – that will all change,” Redding said.
Dunn said the state has been working to repair dams that are structurally deficient.
“The temperature is significant,” McDonnell added.
He said hopefully Pennsylvania can take action on the areas of concern.