Bob Collins
Consider the following map, published in the New York Times today, a pinpoint of where temperature change has been the most extreme.
Rising seas threatening Miami? Big storms in the northeast? Nope.
Ground zero is us.
The map shows how much faster temperatures have changed since 1989.
We don’t get as much snow in the winter, and the air coming into Minnesota and the Dakotas from the Arctic isn’t near as cold as it used to be.
In short: we’re losing our reputation. You don’t even need to be hardy to survive Midwest winters anymore.
“In Minnesota, we used to get to negative 30 or negative 40 degrees with certain frequency. But no longer. Maybe we’ll now hit negative 30 with the frequency we used to hit negative 40,” said Kenneth Blumenfeld, a senior climatologist at the Minnesota State Climate Office.
Cold winters? That’s so yesterday.
Twenty-three of the past 30 winters were warmer than the 20th century average.
The Times says the result is “expanded ranges for pests and allergens, disruption to growing seasons, financial losses for snow-based industries and decreased water availability in the West.”
Related: Beer, but to get your attention on climate change (Climate Cast)
