Pacific Northwest Impacts

Large rows of tulips flourish between dirt pathways on a tulip farm.
  • Warmer, drier summers with more extreme heatwaves
  • Health risks from heat stress and dehydration
  • More extreme rainfall events
  • Earlier and stronger springtime peak river flows
  • Lower and more prolonged summer low river flows
  • Warming river temperatures (impact on fish)
  • Shifting alpine vegetation zones and risks to ecosystem health
  • Health risks from wildfires/smoke, airborne dust and allergens
  • The Cascade snow season starting later and ending earlier
  • The snowpack quantity decreasing by approximately 30-50% (but with large interannual variability)
  • Rising average snow level elevations (by as much as 2,000 ft by the end of the century)
  • Possible abandonment or relocation of existing ski areas

Last Updated April 8, 2022