Life-threatening heat waves, record snowfalls and lake level drops are just a few climate change catastrophes in store for the Great Lakes region, according to an interactive map recently launched by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Climate Hot Map features current climate change impacts to locations across the globe, including five Great Lakes hot spots.
Click on “see detail page” at the bottom of each icon box for more information on impacts to that location.
Scientists expect more intense lake-effect snowfall in the Midwest and more precipitation during the winter and spring due to rising temperatures, according to the page for Cleveland, Ohio.
And warming summer temperatures in Wyoming County, N.Y. are stressing cows and lowering milk production and birthing rates, according to the map. New York is ranked third in dairy production nationwide, but the industry could take a hit if the U.S. doesn’t curb its green house gas emissions.
The Climate Hot Map uses only peer-reviewed data from governmental agencies and scientific studies and takes into account “multiple stresses” of climate change and human activities.
Click on the map’s broad categories – people, freshwater, oceans, ecosystems and temperature – to filter out locations.