Climate Change in Pennsylvania: Impacts and Solutions for the Keystone State

Global climate change is already making a mark on Pennsylvania’s landscape, livelihoods, and traditions, and over the coming decades impacts are expected to grow more substantial. They may include longer and more intense summer heat waves, reduced winter snowpack, northward shifts in the ranges of valued plant and animal species, and declining yields of key agricultural crops.

For more information download this Union of Concerned Scientists report: Climate Change in Pennsylvania: Impacts and Solutions for the Keystone State

Some of the impacts of unchecked climate change in Pennsylvania include: 

• Many Pennsylvanian cities can expect dramatic increases in
the numbers of summer days over 90°F, putting vulnerable
populations at greater risk of heat-related health effects
and curtailing outdoor activity for many individuals.
• Heat could cause urban air quality to deteriorate substantially,
exacerbating asthma and other respiratory diseases.
• Heat stress on dairy cattle may cause declines in milk
production.
• Yields of native Concord grapes, sweet corn, and favorite
apple varieties may decrease considerably as temperatures
rise and pest pressures grow more severe.
• Snowmobiling is expected to disappear from the state in
the next few decades as winter snow cover shrinks.
• Ski resorts could persist by greatly increasing their snowmaking,
although this may not be an option past midcentury
as winters become too warm for snow—natural
or human-made.
• Substantial changes in bird life are expected to include
loss of preferred habitat for many resident and migratory
species.
• Climate conditions suitable for prized hardwood tree
species such as black cherry, sugar maple, and American
beech are projected to decline or even vanish from
the state.