Access a range of climate-related reports issued by government agencies and scientific organizations. Browse the reports listed below, or filter by scope, content, or focus in the boxes above. To expand your results, click the Clear Filters link.
For the six states of the U.S. Southwest (Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah)i , January 2020 through August 2021 have been exceptional in the instrumental climate record since 1895, with the lowest total precipitation and the third-highest daily average temperatures recorded, which together imposed an unyielding, unprecedented, and costly drought. This exceptional drought punctuates a two-decade period of persistently warm and dry conditions throughout the region.
This Guide is written for practitioners already using or wanting to use future climate information in their work, but who are not familiar with the underlying assumptions and choices surrounding climate data. Here, we introduce the climate model scenarios that are used to “drive” climate models forward in time. These scenarios are a combination of socioeconomic and climate forcing pathways. We summarize differences between these scenarios for the Great Lakes region to show users how their choice of model scenario affects future temperature and precipitation projections.
Safe and secure water supplies are a continuing fundamental pursuit for life in the West. This 2021 Report provides an assessment of climate change impacts to water uses in the West and adds a new set of West-wide information based in paleohydrology. This report describes our collaborative actions taken to increase the reliability of water and power deliveries since 2016, including: science and research, planning, infrastructure sustainability, efficient hydropower production, and on-the-ground actions to meet needs for irrigation, municipalities, power, Tribes, and the environment.
Hotter weather, stronger typhoons, coral reef death, and physical and mental health risks are among the major challenges detailed in this report on climate change in the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI). Threatened resources include high-value coastal infrastructure and the millions of dollars that ocean ecosystems add to the CNMI economy annually. This report provides guidance for decision makers seeking to better understand the implications of climate variability and change for CNMI and its communities and identifies the additional information and research needed to support responses that enhance resilience and help CNMI to withstand the changes to come.
Each region of the United States experiences climate change and its impacts on health differently, due to the regions’ location-specific climate exposures and unique societal and demographic characteristics. This document describes the various health impacts climate change will have on different regions of the United States as outlined in the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), actions taken by the CDC Climate and Health Program’s health department partners to prepare for and respond to climate change in their communities, and relevant tools and resources.
This report and the accompanying community spotlights provide an overview of climate change science, reasons why action is needed, how science supports decision making and planning, ways to adapt to climate change and limit the severity of its effects, and how such efforts can help build resiliency. The report illustrates the ways in which science can help individuals, communities, businesses, and government agencies make informed decisions. By working together to identify solutions and bring about positive change, we can reduce the risks faced by current and future generations.
The Beloved Community is a vision for our future where all people share equally in the wealth and bounty of the earth, where we protect its abundance, diversity, and beauty for future generations. In this vision of liberation, racism, exploitation, and domination are replaced by democracy, cooperation, interdependence, and love. To get there, we pursue transformative, systems-change solutions. What do we mean by this? The root causes of the problems our communities face—like climate change, racism, and economic inequality—are all deeply connected. Since the problems are connected, so are the solutions. The purpose of this toolkit is to put us on the path toward achieving this vision. Through the context of building equity and resilience into climate adaptation planning, we introduce strategies to transform our communities and, by extension, society. Our ultimate goal is to create lasting and systemic change. At the same time, we recognize the urgency of the issues our communities face and the need to take action now. That is why we pursue change at every scale—from policy changes to community-based projects—to institute the transformative change we need to uphold our vision of the beloved community.
The guidance provided by this report is designed to help all communities create disaster debris management plans. It assists communities in planning for natural disaster debris before disasters—such as hurricanes, earthquakes, tornadoes, volcanoes, floods, wildfires, and winter storms—occur by providing useful, relevant information intended to increase community preparedness and resiliency. The report includes recommended components of a debris management plan, suggested management options for various natural disaster debris streams, a collection of case studies that highlights how several communities prepared for and managed debris generated by recent natural disasters, resources to consult in planning for natural disasters, and the EPA’s recommended pre-incident planning process to help prepare communities for effective disaster debris management.
The frequency and severity of disasters over the last few decades have presented unprecedented challenges for communities across the United States. This report summarizes the existing portfolio of relevant or related resilience measurement efforts and notes gaps and challenges associated with them. It describes how some communities build and measure resilience, and offers four key actions that communities could take to build and measure their resilience to address gaps identified in current community resilience measurement efforts. The report also provides recommendations to the Gulf Research Program to build and measure resilience in the Gulf of Mexico region.
Flooding is the natural hazard with the greatest economic and social impact in the United States, and these impacts are becoming more severe over time. This report contributes to existing knowledge on urban flooding by examining real-world examples in specific metropolitan areas: Baltimore, Houston, Chicago, and Phoenix. The report identifies commonalities and variances among the case study metropolitan areas in terms of causes, adverse impacts, unexpected problems in recovery, or effective mitigation strategies, as well as key themes of urban flooding. It also relates, as appropriate, causes and actions of urban flooding to existing federal resources or policies.
This report offers the first national assessment of the scope and consequences of urban flooding in the United States. Researchers analyzed available data concerning urban flooding, surveyed municipal flood and stormwater managers, and met with professionals whose disciplines intersect with urban flooding at the local, state, and national level. The research team's findings affirm that urban flooding is a national and significant source of economic loss, social disruption, and housing inequality. This report presents the full results of the study, addresses governance issues that affect urban flood risk reduction, examines critical challenges, and offers recommendations for actions.
During late 2016, the National Integrated Drought Information System, the National Drought Mitigation Center, the Midwestern Regional Climate Center, and other regional partners convened four stakeholder meetings in the Midwest Drought Early Warning System. Each of these meetings included a historical drought overview and climate outlook for the region, discussion of critical drought-related needs and challenges, exploration of available tools, local drought planning and management approaches, and strategy development to improve drought early warning and resiliency in the Midwest.
The State of Maine is experiencing shifts in atmospheric and oceanographic conditions that put it at the precipice of abrupt climate change. This report—part of the Department of Homeland Security's Regional Resiliency Assessment Program (RRAP)—focuses on the local and regional consequences of climate disruptions and their impacts on critical infrastructure in the Casco Bay region, the most developed and populous region in Maine. The report identifies vulnerabilities that may potentially affect the region’s ability to maintain its critical infrastructure systems and recover from the impacts of climate change.
King County, Washington's Strategic Climate Action Plan sets forth strategies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and preparing for climate change impacts.
The Hawai‘i Fresh Water Initiative was launched in 2013 to bring multiple, diverse parties together to develop a forward-thinking and consensus-based strategy to increase water security for the Hawaiian Islands. This Blueprint is the result of the work of the Hawai‘i Fresh Water Council, and provides Hawai‘i policy and decision makers with a set of solutions that have broad, multisector support in the fresh water community that should be adopted over the next three years to put Hawai‘i on a path toward water security. The ultimate goal of the initiative is to create 100 million gallons per day in additional, reliable fresh water capacity for the islands by 2030. The report outlines three aggressive water strategy areas with individual targets.
Many climate-related hydrologic variables in New England have changed in the past century, and many are expected to change during the next century. It is important to understand and monitor these changes because they can affect human water supply, hydroelectric power generation, transportation infrastructure, and stream and riparian ecology. This report describes a framework for hydrologic monitoring in New England by means of a climate-response network.
The Resilient Strategies Guide for Water Utilities provides options for drinking water, wastewater, and stormwater utilities to assist them in developing plans that contain strategies that address their specific needs and priorities.
The Guide outlines the resilience planning process and helps you to identify potential strategies and promote a better understanding of resilience strategies. At the end of the Guide, you can download a report containing all of your selections and submitted information.
This report builds on Maine’s earlier report from 2009—it is not intended as a comprehensive revision of all aspects of the original report. This update focuses on highlights of the understanding in 2015 of past, present, and future trends in key indicators of a changing climate specific to Maine, and recent examples of how Maine people are experiencing these changes.
This report provides current and relevant climate adaptation information to a diverse audience of legislators, government agencies, policy makers, educators, nongovernment organizations, business, industry, researchers, other stakeholders and the public.
A five-year effort by the California Department of Water Resources, this report presents the status and trends of California's water-dependent natural resources, water supplies, and agricultural, urban, and environmental water demands for a range of plausible future scenarios. Update 2013, as it is known, is designed to work in tandem and help implement the Governor’s Water Action Plan. At more than 3,500 pages, Update 2013 covers a variety of information, from detailed descriptions of current and potential regional and statewide water conditions to a “Roadmap For Action” intended to achieve desired benefits and outcomes.
Without significant changes, existing water systems will soon no longer be able to provide the services that citizens have come to expect. After six years of research, The Johnson Foundation presents a resource intended to examine challenges associated with quality, availability, and resilience of U.S. freshwater resources due to climate change, aging infrastructure, and extreme events. The report contains a set of principles to help guide the efforts of leaders in various sectors as they act upon the recommendations offered.
This report outlines 100 recommendations to help improve federal programs and their ability to prepare for climate change, drawing from a series of workshops with leading federal, state, and local officials and building upon lessons learned post-disaster in New Orleans (following Hurricane Katrina), New York (following Hurricane Sandy), and Vermont (after Hurricane Irene). The report identifies more than 30 federal programs, initiatives, and laws that can be used to prepare for extreme events such as storms, floods, and heat waves as well as rising seas. This report informed the White House's State, Local, and Tribal Leaders Task Force on Climate Preparedness and Resilience.
This plan—an update to the 2009 California Climate Adaptation Strategy—augments previously identified strategies in light of advances in climate science and risk management options.
This report documents the effort to develop an understanding of possible impacts of climate change and potential future responses by the Towns of Acushnet and Fairhaven and the City of New Bedford, Massachusetts. It focuses specific attention on sea level rise, precipitation, and frequency or intensity of storms that may affect public infrastructure related to water quality and habitat protection.
As the climate changes, critical challenges face water managers, farmers, public agencies, and conservationists in the Colorado River Basin. This report by Carpe Diem West, in partnership with the Center for Natural Resources and Environmental Policy at the University of Montana, documents the concerns of some Colorado River thought leaders and their ideas about potential solutions and paths ahead.
This report examines climate change impacts in Hawai'i and also assesses the adaptive capacity of the Pacific Island communities.
This plan was developed to provide an effective and systematic means for the State of Colorado to reduce the impacts of water shortages over the short and long term.
This report offers an evaluation of the projected impacts of climate change on Connecticut agriculture, infrastructure, natural resources, and public health, and recommends strategies to mitigate those impacts.
A contribution to the 2013 National Climate Assessment, this report is a summary and synthesis of the past, present, and projected future of the Southwest region’s climate. It emphasizes new information and understandings since publication of the previous national assessment in 2009.
This report summarizes the current state of knowledge on potential abrupt changes to the ocean, atmosphere, ecosystems, and high-latitude areas, and identifies key research and monitoring needs. The report calls for action to develop an abrupt change early warning system to help anticipate future abrupt changes and reduce their impacts.
This document contains a framework for steps to protect Washington State’s natural resources and economy from the impacts of climate change and build the capacity to adapt to expected climate changes. It outlines how existing and new state policies and programs can improve so that Washington can respond to climate change. In addition, it contains recommendations on how to strengthen existing efforts and build partnerships to help local governments, private and public organizations, and individuals reduce their vulnerability to climate change.
The report provides a comprehensive overview of observed and predicted changes to Massachusetts’ climate and the anticipated impacts. It also describes potential adaptation strategies the state may take to prepare for climate change.
This plan identifies Ohio's mitigation strategy, which helps guide local mitigation planning and project efforts. The State of Ohio Standard Hazard Mitigation Plan was first approved by FEMA in 2005. This 2011 plan revision details Ohio’s highest priority hazards: river/stream flooding, tornadoes, winter storms, landslides, dam/levee failure, wildfire, coastal flooding, earthquakes, coastal erosion, drought, severe summer storms, invasive species, and land subsidence hazards. The plan also integrates and introduces the State Hazard Analysis, Resource and Planning Portal (SHARPP), a web-based system that captures and disseminates state and local hazard mitigation planning and project information.
