Climate Change Impacts on the State of Louisiana by 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.