Climate Change
Climate risks in the Great Lakes basin
While many climate change conversations focus on rising sea levels, droughts, or wildfires, Great Lakes residents must understand how climate change will affect their region. Specific projections vary, but scientists predict that the regional climate of the Great Lakes basin will be warmer, wetter, and less icy by the end of the century.
According to the Great Lakes Integrated Sciences and Assessments (GLISA), some projections for the coming century include:
- Increases in average air temperatures by 3.6 to 11.2°F (2 to 6.2°C)
- More intense storms, leading to more damage from winds and flooding
- Less lake ice, leaving more water exposed to evaporate and become lake-effect rain or snow
- Larger and more severe algal blooms
- Fluctuating lake levels
- Greater displacement of native aquatic and terrestrial species by more adaptable or warmer-weather species
- More frequent and severe droughts
- Longer growing season for crops, tempered by crop damage from heat, drought, and pests
- Increased risk of illness and death from heat waves and pest-borne diseases
- Interruptions to local economies dependent on winter tourism
Climate and weather in the Great Lakes
The following video is part of a series developed to teach Great Lakes climate science and water quality to students through the Great Lakes Lessons curriculum collection.
- Climate change and water quality curriculum materials
- Learn more about the research project that generated these videos (click on the “Assessing the effects of climate-change-induced extreme events on water quality and ecology in the Great Lakes” section)
Climate adaptation
Understanding these risks can help Great Lakes communities and residents make wise decisions about investing time, energy, and resources into climate resilience and adaptation efforts. These inform on-the-ground decisions such as:
- Which crops to plant and when
- How to design or improve stormwater systems
- How much money a city should budget for snow removal
For more about how communities can build climate change adaptation into their planning processes, see Climate Adaptation.
