Since 2015, USGCRP’s IGIM has convened an annual U.S. Climate Modeling Summit . The Summit brings together representatives from the U.S. CMIP-class climate model development centers and from operational climate prediction programs, with the goal of improving the coordination and communication of national climate modeling goals. Alongside many of the summits, a technical workshop focused on a high-priority modeling topic facing the U.S. and international modeling communities has also been convened. In 2021, the workshop focused on Earth system predictability. Outcomes included identification of...

The CDC’s Heat and Health Tracker , developed in collaboration with NOAA and its NWS, provides local heat and health information to help communities prepare for and respond to extreme heat events. This includes monthly and future projections of the expected number of days that are at or above a dangerous level of heat based on climatological norms. The Heat and Health Tracker also includes a Heat-Related Illness and Temperature map of the rate of emergency department visits associated with heat-related illness per 100,000 visits by region.

Atmospheric rivers are long, narrow regions in the atmosphere that move moist air from the tropics to higher latitudes, producing heavy rain and snow upon landfall. They provide much of the rainfall in the western United States and are frequently associated with extreme weather across large parts of the country. The international Atmospheric River Tracking Method Intercomparison Project ( ARTMIP ) is seeking to improve understanding of the linkages between climate change and atmospheric rivers. ARTMIP consists of participants from national laboratories, universities, and research centers...

Ecosystems on land store large amounts of the carbon emitted by human activities, and protecting and restoring forests and other vegetation are important tools in slowing climate change. However, there are large uncertainties in global estimates of the balance between how much carbon ecosystems store and how much they release into the atmosphere due to deforestation, wildfire, and other disturbances. To improve estimates of the global carbon balance, NASA, USDA-FS, and other contributors assessed changes in the amount of carbon stored by live woody vegetation (such as trees and shrubs)...

The Adaptive Silviculture for Climate Change ( ASCC ) project is a collaborative effort to help guide forest managers in preparing forest ecosystems for climate change. Scientists, land managers, and a variety of partners have developed seven initial trial sites as part of this multi-region study to research long-term ecosystem responses to a range of climate change adaptation actions. USDA-FS scientists partnered with universities and local, state, and federal agencies (including DOI and USACE) to develop the first ASCC project in an urban national park, the Mississippi National River and...

A 2021 report from EPA, USDA-FS, DOI, and NIST compared the air quality and health impacts of smoke from prescribed fire, which is used as a land management tool, with smoke from wildfire. The report found that using prescribed fire is not without risk as it can result in smoke-related air quality and public health impacts—but at a much smaller scale compared to wildfire. The assessment could be informative to multiple levels of government as they engage and plan for future land and fire management activities. The report also contributes to the identification of future research efforts to...

In 2021, USGCRP’s Interagency Crosscutting Group on Climate Change and Human Health ( CCHHG ) supported the global GEO Health Community of Practice in holding a global conversation on the use of Earth observations and climate information for decision-making around COVID-19, and in convening regionally focused workshops on the use of observations for health in the Americas, Africa, and Asia. The GEO Health Community of Practice is a network of governments, organizations, and observers that seeks to use environmental observations to improve health decision-making, with support from NASA and NOAA...

The impacts of global change, and how effectively people and communities can respond to them, are interconnected with historical and current inequities. Effective responses to global change challenges require diversity of thought, knowledge, and experience, as well as careful evaluation of risks, impacts, and responses from the perspectives and practices of equity and environmental justice. USGCRP and its member agencies are emphasizing diversity, equity, inclusion, justice, and accessibility throughout their activities, aiming to expand participation in federal global change research and help...

U.S. coastlines are experiencing more frequent and severe coastal flooding, both recurrent tidal flooding events and life-threatening storm surge events. NOAA and DOT have initiated four four-year projects to investigate the effects of coastal flooding on surface transportation infrastructure. The projects are advancing modeling approaches that evaluate how effective different infrastructure designs are at reducing the impacts of repeated coastal flooding events, pairing pavement deterioration modeling with coastal flood and ecosystem modeling. Research teams are engaging with community...

The Caribbean Drought Learning Network (CDLN) is a peer-to-peer network that links climate service providers, climate researchers and resource managers to share knowledge and strengthen collaboration and communication in drought research and management in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, where drought constrains agricultural production, impacts the economy, and diminishes quality of life. The goal of this network is to produce and share information, lessons learned, and needs in preparing for, responding to, and recovering from drought affecting farms, forests, and rural communities...