EXECUTIVE SUMMARY [in PDF format]

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INTRODUCTION:  Climate Variability and Change

The widespread drought in the Mid-Atlantic states in the summer of 1999, followed by the largest peace-time evacuation in U.S. history to protect people from Hurricane Floyd, are reminders of how much weather and climate influence people and their well-being.  Growth in population and the corresponding increase in impervious surfaces lead to more severe impacts from the same shortfall in precipitation, or from the same intensity of hurricane.  It is challenging to understand interactions among influences such as population growth, changes in land use, and climate variability, to determine the seriousness of consequences from these interactions, and to evaluate options for moderating undesirable consequences.

In addition to the impacts of current climate variability, the potential impacts of long-term climate change must also be considered in evaluating the interactions between climate and society.  There is increasing evidence that the accumulation of carbon dioxide and other "greenhouse gases" in the atmosphere as a result of human activities (such as the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation) is causing global climate to change.  These changes, which include an increase in global temperature and alterations in precipitation regimes, will vary regionally.

Some (but not all) of the processes regulating vulnerability to climate change operate at local scales and could be missed in aggregate national and global studies.  Recognizing this, the U.S. Global Change Research Program (USGCRP) has been collaborating with federal agencies to sponsor 19 regional assessments and six sectoral assessments (coastal areas, water, agriculture, forests, health, and Native Peoples/ Native Homelands) of the potential consequences of climate variability and change for the Nation.  The over-arching goal is to provide scientific information useful to society by:

• identifying how people and their surroundings will be affected by climate change,
• how individuals and communities can take advantage of opportunities and reduce vulnerabilities resulting from climate change, and
• what additional information and research are needed to improve decisions related to impacts from climate variability and change.

Background on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Assessment

Last Modified: 05/11/2000