The massive Fifth National Climate Assessment was released Tuesday and says bigger, bolder steps are needed to curb climate change effects.
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Climate change is here and prompting unprecedented actions in every state to curb the greenhouse gas emissions fueling warming temperatures, but a new federal report out Tuesday says bigger, bolder steps are needed.
After several years of work by more than 500 authors from every state, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Guam, the White House released the massive Fifth National Climate Assessment.
In remarks Tuesday morning, President Joe Biden announced more than $6 billion to bolster the electric grid, update water infrastructure, reduce flooding, and advance environmental justice.
"This assessment shows us in clear scientific terms, that climate change is impacting all regions, all sectors of the United States," Biden said. "We’ve come to the point where it’s foolish for anyone to deny the impacts of climate change anymore."
Among the noted effects:
The number of nights with minimum low temperatures at or above 70 degrees has increased compared to 1901-1960 in every corner of the country except the northern Great Plains and Alaska.
Average annual precipitation is increasing in most regions, except the Northwest, Southwest, and Hawaii.
Heavier precipitation events are increasing everywhere except Hawaii and the Caribbean.
Relative sea levels are increasing along much of the coast, except for Oregon, Washington, and Alaska.
In the 1980s, the country experienced on average a $1 billion disaster every four months but now experiences one every three weeks. This year, the country has set a new record with 25 billion-dollar disasters.