Snow in Mass., parts of the U.S. could be a thing of history, new climate report warns
Snowy Massachusetts winters could be a thing of the past, according to a new climate report released on Tuesday by the Biden Administration and the U.S. Global Change Research Program.
The report, officially called the Fifth National Climate Assessment, predicts a reality where global temperatures average between 4.5 and 7.2 degrees Fahrenheit, with the lower 48 already warming up by 2.5 degrees and Alaska heating up 4.2 degrees.
Rises in temperature continue to be a product of global greenhouse gas emissions from human activities expected to result in more warming and “other large-scale changes, including rising sea levels, melting ice, ocean warming and acidification, changing rainfall patterns and shifts in timing of seasonal events,” the report said.
Language throughout the report is much stronger in describing the root causes of climate change, “unequivocally caused by greenhouse gas emissions from human activities—primarily burning fossil fuels. Atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide.”
Precipitation that does fall over the United States, like New England, will likely be rain rather than snow. Smaller snowpack levels in the west would mean less impact runoff in states like California and Nevada. In those parts of the country, “small rural water providers that often depend on a single water source or have limited capacity are especially vulnerable,” the report said.
Precipitation consisting of rain, though, is expected to increase upwards of five inches, the report said. The whole East Coast, Midwest and Pacific Northwest fall under this category. The Southwest is on track to see precipitation levels further decline.
The report also details more climate catastrophes slamming parts of the country over time, including hurricanes in the eastern and southern states, wildfires in the midwest and on the West Coast, and sea level rise along the coasts. While all people are at risk under such conditions, the impact will be strongest on “low-income communities, communities of color, and tribes and Indigenous peoples” with “high exposure and vulnerability to extreme events due to both their proximity to hazard-prone areas and lack of adequate infrastructure or disaster management resources.”
Economic losses are also projected to amount due to devastation, namely through “infrastructure damage, disruptions in labor and public services, and losses in property values,” the report said. Recovery efforts after one event could be upended by another or more extreme climate events occurring in succession of each other.
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While Massachusetts and the rest of the country are also on track to experience an El Niño this year that’s forecasted to bring on more precipitation going into 2024 in contrast to the start of 2023, the report does not acknowledge this near-term climate pattern.
Winter 2023 delivered a dry winter season with a small nor’easter and what Joe Dellicarpini, science and operations officer with the National Weather Service in Norton, told MassLive in March was a back-loaded winter. This takes place when the atmosphere approaches the conditions for meteorological spring, but the snow and cold weather are still yet to come late in the winter season
In a statement about the report, the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration said that despite the Biden Administration’s efforts to “adapt to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions,” “deeper cuts in global and U.S. net greenhouse gas emissions and accelerated adaptation efforts” are needed.
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