Ecosystems, Infrastructure and Adaptive Capacity
How is climate change affecting the Great Lakes Basin?
The potential implications of climate change for the Great Lakes were recognized as early as the mid-1980s, and scientific evidence developed since then has only intensified concerns about its possible effects. Over the past several years, the Great Lakes Basin has been showing signs of many of the impacts consistent with a changing climate, including an increasing number of extreme weather events such as rainstorms, floods, blizzards and droughts. Scientists are projecting warmer winters, more extreme heat waves in summer, increased lake evaporation and warmer water temperatures throughout the region.