Climate Change Impacts on the State of Louisiana Climate Change Impacts on the State of Louisiana

by Nadiriye Haciogullariby Nadiriye Haciogullari

• The global climate is changing due to the build-up of heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere.

• Unless this build-up is slowed, the climate of the Gulf Coast region could be noticeably altered.

Research Questions

• How is the climate already changing?

• Why is it changing?• How are humans contributing to

the problem?• What are potential impacts from

climate change?

“An increasing body of observations gives a collective picture of a warming world and other changes in the climate system.”

IPCC 2001

Historical Temperature Changes in the Gulf Coast Region

Literature Review

• Books and articles– Global Climate Change and Its

Consequences on the Gulf Coast Region of the United States (2000) by Abdollahi and Ning

– Integrated Assessment of the Climate Change Impacts on the Gulf Coast Region (2003) Ning,Turner,Doyle and Abdollahi

The Climate of Louisiana

• Louisiana’s climate has always been variable

• Louisiana has a warm and humid climate

• Rainfall is brought by extra tropical storms in the winter & thunderstorms and tropical storms in the summer and fall.

Climate Change Risks

• Human Health,• Coastal Areas • Agriculture & Forestry, • Water Resources,• Fisheries • Wetlands

Human Health

• Climate change having the greatest direct human health

• Top 15 most notable weather disasters in the US, nine occurred in Gulf Coast states.

Coastal Areas

• Climate change will likely exacerbate coastal areas vulnerability.

• Climate change will increase the rate of erosion.

Water Resources

• Any changes in climate, such as rainfall, evaporation, groundwater recharge rates, and/or runoff patterns, will affect ecosystems and all freshwater users.

• Higher water temperatures will alter aquatic ecosystems by changing aquatic food webs and species communities

Agriculture and Forestry

• Agriculture and forestry are both enormously important industries in Louisiana

• “With changes in climate, the extent and density of forested areas in Louisiana could change little or decline by 5-15%.”

Ning & Abdollahi Global Climate Change

Fisheries

• Louisiana enjoys a lucrative fishing and seafood industry.

• As sea level continues to rise, the yield of estuarine-dependent fisheries, such as shrimp, will increase or decrease depending on the size and quality of the new habitat over time

Wetlands

• Louisiana’s wetlands are already being lost at the alarming.

• Wetlands help retain and purify water, stabilize sediments, and protect coastal areas from storm surges.

Conclusions

• It is possible to assess Louisiana’s vulnerability to a rapidly changing climate, even though extracting state-specific information from global climate model projections entails significant uncertainty. Definitely, Louisiana can play a significant role in slowing down climate change.