Westchester Action Plan, 2008 - Westchester County Government

• Contraction of the Greenland ice sheet will continue and contribute to sea level rise.
• Coastal communities and habitats will be increasingly stressed by climate
change impacts interacting with development and pollution.
• When the global average temperature increase exceeds about 6.3°F, significant
species extinctions will occur (40-70 percent of species assessed) around the globe.
Climate change has the potential to yield continued adverse impacts on ecological,
economic, and social systems, which will be experienced at every level of society. Those in
the weakest economic position are often the most vulnerable to climate change. There is
increasing evidence of greater vulnerability of specific groups such as the poor and elderly
in not only developing but also developed countries, and even in places like Westchester.
How Will Climate Change Affect Westchester County
The Northeast Climate Impacts Assessment (NECIA), a collaboration between the Union of
Concerned Scientists (UCS) and a team of more than fifty independent experts, has
assessed climate change and the resulting impacts within the Northeast. According to the
NECIA report, Confronting Climate Change in the U.S. Northeast 2007 ii the local seasonal
climate, characterized by snowy winters, verdant springs, humid summers, and brilliant
autumns, with infrequent events such as nor’easters, ice storms, and heat waves, is in the
process of changing. Using multiple climate change models and assuming that emissions
are uncurbed, the NECIA study predicts that winters could warm by 8 to 12°F and that
summers could warm by 6 to 12 o F by late this century. Associated with this warming will
be disruptive impacts on coastal areas, marine habitats, forests, agriculture, and human
health. Associated with these impacts will also be substantial economic and social
disturbance.
The number of days over 90°F in large
Northeastern cities is projected to
increase in the coming decades. The
box shows the increase in days over
100°F.
Source: Confronting Climate Change
in the U.S. Northeast 2007.
Attachment 1: Climate Change, Global Warming, and Westchester
Westchester Action Plan, 2008 1-3