IN CCIA September 2020 Newsletter

National Reports of Interest

While we typically focus on state and local information in this newsletter, over the last few months there have been several important national reports that we want to make sure everyone has seen, so we're including them here.

Managing Climate Risk in the U.S. Financial System
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission’s Climate-Related Market Risk Subcommittee, released on Sept 9, 2020 the first major federal government study to focus on financial risks from climate change. This landmark report concludes that "climate change poses a major risk to the stability of the U.S. financial system and to its ability to sustain the American economy." More than 50 key recommendations for safeguarding our financial system are provided.

READ FULL REPORT
READ COMMENTARY FROM PCCRC DIRECTOR

Climate Indicators for Agriculture
A new report published in July 2020 by the U.S. Department of Agriculture focuses on how agricultural systems are impacted by climate change and uses a list of 20 indicators to provide a broad look at what's happening across the country.

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Preparing for the Regional Health Impacts of Climate Change in the United States
Climate change, together with other natural and human-made health stressors, influences human health and disease in numerous ways. Some existing health threats will intensify
and new health threats will emerge. This report published in July 2020 by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention summarizes health effects, resources, and adaptation examples from health departments funded by the CDC’s Climate and Health Program.

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The First National Flood Risk Assessment
A report published in June 2020 by the First Street Foundation provides a comprehensive national analysis of the state of flood risk in the continental U.S. While the results are not intended to be a substitution for FEMA flood hazard maps, which are the gold standard for understanding U.S. flood risks, these data may be useful in making broad management or planning decisions at the local level.

READ FULL REPORT
READ INDY STAR ARTICLE

Back To School - Climate Change Resources

Climate change is a big issue, so when it comes to introducing students to the topic it can be difficult to know where to begin. To help with this challenge, Purdue professors Daniel Shepardson and Andrew Hirsch have outlined five critical topics about climate change that all students should learn, and that every adult should understand.

Looking for activities and resources to help integrate these five critical topics into your lesson plans? Here are a few databases and resources that you can browse:

Weather and Climate Toolkit, by Illinois-Indiana Sea Grant
TeachClimate.org, a climate literacy toolkit by Heart and Earth Charter Indiana
The Climate Literacy and Energy Awareness Network (CLEAN)
Dynamics of Climate Toolkit and companion activities for conceptualizing climate change, by Purdue University

Dig Deeper: A Warmer and Wetter Indiana

Over the last century Indiana's climate has become warmer and wetter. Projections show the pace picking up even more speed as heat-trapping gases, produced by humans burning fossil fuels, continue accumulating in the atmosphere. Indiana will continue to warm, more precipitation will fall, and extremely hot days will be common in many parts of the state. These changing climate patterns affect us individually and affect many aspects of our society, including human health, public infrastructure, water resources, agriculture, energy use, urban environments, and ecosystems. These findings are according to the IN CCIA inaugural report, Indiana's Past and Future Climate.

Among the report's key findings:

* Indiana has already warmed 1.2 degrees F since 1895. Temperatures are projected to rise about 5-6 degrees F by mid-century, with significantly more warming by century’s end.

* The number of extremely hot days with temperatures of 95 degrees F or higher will rise significantly in all parts of the state. In the past, southern Indiana averaged about seven such days per year, but by mid-century the region is projected to experience 38 to 51 extremely hot days per year.

* Average annual precipitation has increased 5.6 inches since 1895 and more rain is falling in heavy downpours. Winters and springs are likely to be much wetter by mid-century, while changes in summer and fall precipitation are less certain.

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DIG DEEPER
The IN CCIA Climate Working Group has published the technical details behind these key findings in the peer-reviewed journal Climatic Change. ⤵️

Hamlet, A., Byun, K., Robeson, S., Widhalm, M., and M. Baldwin. (2019). Impacts of Climate Change on the State of Indiana: Ensemble future projections based on statistical downscaling. Climatic Change. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10584-018-2309-9 (Free access available at https://docs.lib.purdue.edu/climatepub/1/)

Putting the IN CCIA Into Action

Have a story to share? Let us know! Email IN CCIA coordinator, Melissa Widhalm.

Upcoming Events

As we pause travel to help stop the spread of COVID-19, events are being rescheduled, postponed, canceled, or moved online. We're updating our Events page regularly to keep you informed.

If you're interested in hosting a virtual climate change meeting in your community, please be in touch by email.

Climate Facts

Did you know?

If you are less than 35 and a half years old, you have NEVER experienced a single month of below average global temperatures in your lifetime. According to the National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI), the last time monthly global temperatures were below average was February 1985. The most recent global data are available through August 2020, which marked the 428th consecutive month of above average temperatures. Data for September will be available in a couple weeks from now on the NCEI News page.

About Us:

Led by the Purdue Climate Change Research Center, the Indiana Climate Change Impacts Assessment (IN CCIA) is a statewide effort that brings the best available climate change research together into a series of reports designed to help Hoosiers better understand climate change-related risks so they can prepare for challenges and capitalize on opportunities.

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