The Nature Conservancy Unveils Climate Wizard
New Web Tool Project 9 -10 Degree Increase for Indiana Over Next 100 Years
INDIANAPOLIS, INDIANA — September 2009 — For the first time ever, Hoosiers can use an interactive map to explore past and projected climate change data on their computers. With The Nature Conservancy’s new tool, called ClimateWizard (www.climatewizard.org), users can zoom in on Indiana to quickly see how temperatures and precipitation may change by month, season or year under different emission scenarios. ClimateWizard allows scientists and the general public to visualize climate change not only in Indiana but anywhere on Earth.
“ClimateWizard is truly innovative in its ability to bring some of the same climate data that climate scientists use to the public in a very accessible format,” said Noah Diffenbaugh, Interim Director for the Purdue Climate Change Research Center. “This resource should allow citizens to better understand how rising greenhouse gas concentrations could affect the climate in their region.”
According to projections in ClimateWizard, Indiana could heat up by as much as 10 degrees from climate change by the end of the century.
What does a 10-degree increase mean for Hoosiers? According to many studies, including a recent study from the United States Global Change Research Program, the increase would threaten the state’s multi-billion dollar agriculture industry, increase the risk of heat-related deaths and lead to the disappearance of wildlife. This temperature increase will have serious implications not just for the environment, but for Indiana residents and the state’s economy.
“From the food we put on the table to the animals that make our state unique, this study shows that none of us is immune if temperatures continue to rise as projected. We can now see that climate change will directly hit us here in Indiana, in our own back yards,” said Mary McConnell, director of the Indiana Chapter of The Nature Conservancy. “If we do not act immediately, our children and grandchildren will live in a very different world than we do today. The weather and landscapes that have made Indiana so amazing will be nearly unrecognizable in 100 years.”
For example, warmer winters will allow the corn earworm to further imperil Indiana’s $6.3 billion corn industry. Corn earworm is a serious threat, already destroying about 2% of the nation’s corn crop annually. Cold winters currently hold corn earworm to south of Bloomington. But as winters warm through the century, conditions will allow it to spread throughout the state. And given that Indiana’s cash receipts from corn in 2008 were well over $6 billion, a 2% loss would have totaled $127 million. But there’s more: corn earworm caterpillars also feed on soybeans and tomatoes, whose combined cash receipts in 2007 exceeded $2 billion.
Severe rainstorms will be increasingly common in Indiana, causing more flooding and more damage. During the night of June 6-7, 2008, a series of thunderstorms drenched Indiana south of Interstate 70 with 5-11 inches of rain, with the heaviest deluges centered in Owen County. The frequency of heavy rainstorms like this has increased by more than 25% in the Midwest over the last 50 years, a trend that is projected to continue as temperatures rise. Greater runoff and associated flooding will occur with these more frequent, more intense storms, resulting in greater property damage, more residents at risk, a greater strain on emergency responders, and higher insurance rates.
Increased summer temperatures will bring increased threats to human health. Hotter summers could deliver more heat waves, with the urban poor at greatest risk. Hotter summers will brew smog more quickly, worsening respiratory illnesses.
ClimateWizard’s temperature analysis looked at three emission scenarios based on low, medium and high rates of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere over the next 100 years. Under the highest emission scenario, which assumes carbon dioxide levels will continue to grow, Indiana’s average annual temperature would spike by 9 – 10 degrees F.
Visitors to the ClimateWizard website will also be able to:
- view historic temperature and rainfall maps for anywhere in the world
- view state-of-the-art future projections of temperature and rainfall around the world
- view and download climate change maps in a few easy steps
ClimateWizard was developed by The Nature Conservancy, the University of Washington and the University of Southern Mississippi.
The Nature Conservancy is a leading conservation organization working around the world to protect ecologically important lands and waters for nature and people. The Conservancy and its more than 1 million members have protected nearly 120 million acres worldwide. Visit The Nature Conservancy on the Web at www.nature.org.
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