EPA recently published the fourth edition of the report, Climate Change Indicators in the United States. The last edition was published in 2014. The peer-reviewed report is comprised of data collected from more than 40 government agencies and academic institutions. EPA also published extensive technical documentation describing data sources and analytical methods used to develop the indicators report.
EPA uses indicators to track and communicate how climate change is affecting the environment and society over time. EPA’s primary goal in compiling the report is so that decision makers, scientists and others can use indicators as a tool to communicate relevant climate science information in an understandable way, assess trends that affect the environment and society and inform science-based decision making.
EPA organized the 37 indicators in the report into seven sections: greenhouses gases; weather and climate; oceans; snow and ice; health and society; and ecosystems. Seven new indicators were added since the 2014 report: river flooding, coastal flooding, Antarctic sea ice, heat-related illnesses, West Nile Virus, stream temperature and marine species distribution.
While there are likely to be indicators in each report section that are of interest to water resource managers, the following four sections provide the most useful information for water utilities:
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Weather and climate (includes high and low temperatures, heavy precipitation and river flooding);
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Oceans (includes sea level and coastal flooding);
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Snow and ice (includes snow cover, snowpack and lake ice); and
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Ecosystems (includes stream temperature, Great Lakes water levels and temperatures, and streamflow).