Feature Articles
New Mexico’s FoodShed Alliance
FoodPrint NM in New Mexico is working to shrink the distance between the farm and the fork and curb climate change in the process.
Land Use Planning in the Changing Climate of the West
An assessment of western state climate plans finds many communities could cost-efficiently reduce their emissions by about 20 percent if their land use planning-related policies were fully implemented.
Monsoon Modeling
Atmospheric scientists explain the complexities associated with trying to predict the North American Monsoon with a global climate model.
Discussion
What's New
Keep up with new content and changes on the Southwest Climate Change Network site as it continues to develop. Post comments, questions, and suggestions for the Web site team.
Welcome to the Southwest Climate Change Network
This website is a virtual community for scientists, other experts, decision makers, and the public to share information on climate change and collaborate on solutions.
Editor's Picks
Temperature Changes
The Southwest is projected to warm faster than the world as a whole in coming decades, with summer temperatures rising even faster than winter ones. Average annual temperatures in many parts of the region could be 5 to 8 degrees F higher than they were even during the hot quarter century that began in the 1970s.
Precipitation Changes
Temperature rise alone increases the risk of regional drought, with its effect on evaporation rates and extreme events. On top of that, precipitation is projected to decline in the region—even as the risk of heavy rainfall events increases.
Streamflow: Natural Variability and Human-Caused Changes
Current observations suggest that climate change is altering streamflows in ways that negatively impact water supply for southwestern populations. Many climate models suggest that these changes will worsen as the climate warms, accentuating the natural variability inherent in river flows.
