New
Report Shows Michigan’s Average Temperature is Rising
Ann Arbor, Michigan—This
year’s unprecedented heat wave is part of a broader trend of rising
temperatures in Michigan, according to a new
report, Feeling the Heat: Global Warming
and Rising Temperatures in the United States, released today by Environment
Michigan Research and Policy
Center.
“Global
warming is happening, and Michiganders are feeling the heat,” said Abby Rubley, Field Organizer for Environment
Michigan. “Temperatures will continue to
rise unless we quickly and significantly reduce global warming pollution from
power plants, cars, and SUVs,” continued Rubley.
In
the continental United States,
the first seven months of 2006 were the warmest January-July of any year on
record, according to the National
Climatic Data
Center. In Michigan,
the average temperature was 3.9° F above the 20th century average, making it
the fourth warmest January-July on record.
To
examine how these recent temperature patterns compare with temperatures over
the last 30 years, Environment Michigan Research &
Policy Center researchers
analyzed temperature data from 255 major weather stations in all 50 states and Washington, DC
for the years 2000-2005 and the first six months of 2006. This recent data was compared to “normal”
temperatures for the three decades spanning 1971-2000. Key findings include:
- Nationally, between
2000 and 2005, the average temperature was above normal at 95% of the
locations, indicating widespread warming.
Nights are getting warmer as well.
The average minimum (nighttime low) temperature was above normal at
92% of the locations examined.
- In Sault Ste.
Marie, between 2000 and 2005, the average minimum (nighttime low)
temperature was 2.9° F above normal.
During the first six months of 2006,
the average minimum temperature was 6° F above normal, ranking the city 2nd
in the country for the highest above-normal nighttime temperature between
January and June of 2006.
“Two
or three degrees may not seem like much, but just like in people, a small,
relatively rapid temperature rise can have serious consequences,” continued Abby Rubley. Rubley
pointed to numerous studies showing that sea levels are already on the rise,
ice and snow cover are declining, and hurricanes are becoming more powerful. In Michigan,
unchecked global warming threatens to cause serious
future water shortages, as the snow packed lakes and streams that feed the Great Lakes dry up.
For example, the newest update to a Lake Erie
management plan predicts global warming will lead to a steep drop in water
levels over the next 64 years, a change that could cause the lake's surface
area to shrink by up to 15%.
To
avoid the worst consequences of global warming, the U.S. must stabilize global warming emissions
within the next decade, begin reducing them soon thereafter, and cut emissions
by 80% by the middle of this century.
In
August, Environment Michigan Research & Policy Center released a report
showing how the U.S. could cut global warming pollution by nearly 20% by 2020
by making our homes, cars, and businesses more efficient, switching to
renewable energy sources, and giving Americans more alternatives to driving,
paired with strong, mandatory limits on global warming emissions.
This
summer Rep. Henry Waxman of California
introduced legislation, called the Safe Climate Act (H.R. 5642), to harness
clean energy solutions and reduce U.S. global warming emissions by 15%
by 2020 and by 80% by 2050.
“To
protect future generations, Environment Michigan strongly urges Michigan Represenatives in Congress
to cosponsor the Safe Climate Act, the long-term solution to global warming,”
concluded Rubley.
###
Environment
Michigan - a
statewide, citizen-based environmental advocacy organization - is the new home
of PIRGIM’s environmental work.
