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An interagency platform highlights important indicators of change

Posted
Aug 24, 2021
Indicators

Climate indicators show trends over time in key aspects of our environment, such as greenhouse gas levels in the atmosphere, temperatures across land and sea, and the extent of Arctic sea ice, as well as metrics of social or economic exposure to the impacts of climate variability and change. Indicators are based on long-term, consistently collected data and can be used to assess risks and vulnerabilities from a changing climate and to inform response actions. USGCRP’s Indicators Interagency Working Group (IndIWG) leverages existing agency research, data, and indicators in support of sustained assessment activities, including the National Climate Assessment.

IndIWG launched an interagency web platform for USGCRP to highlight federally supported climate-relevant indicators (see figure for example) and programs and integrate information from the Fourth National Climate Assessment (NCA4), including a figure depicting climate-relevant trends across the United States that was developed for the NCA4 Volume II Overview chapter. The platform provides readily accessible, well-documented climate information and is well positioned to support sustained assessment activities, including the addition of new indicators, routine data updates, and a range of communication activities.

The IndIWG and the indicators web platform represent an interagency collaboration with participation and input from many USGCRP member agencies, including the DOI, EPA, HHS, NASA, NOAA, NSF, and USDA, as well as USGCRP interagency working groups.

A bar chart showing an increase in weather and climate disasters causing more than one billion U.S. dollars in direct losses from 1980 to 2020. Event types shown are drought, flooding, freeze, severe storm, tropical cyclone, wildfire, and winter storm.

An example indicator featured on the USGCRP Indicator Platform. This indicator shows, by year, the number of weather and climate disasters causing more than one billion U.S. dollars in direct losses. These events are binned into seven hazard types, each represented by its own color. Source: USGCRP.

Highlight Agency: 
Department of Agriculture, Department of Commerce, Department of Health & Human Services, Department of the Interior, Environmental Protection Agency, National Aeronautics & Space Administration, National Science Foundation
Source Report: 
Our Changing Planet: The U.S. Global Change Research Program for Fiscal Year 2021

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A collaboration explores socio-environmental systems indicators for climate change adaptation and resilience

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