Other Than Alaska, New England Is The Fastest-Warming Region In The United States - 4.5F Warmer 1900 - 2024 [View all]

[hatrack]

The US region called New England is widely known for its colonial history, maple syrup and frigid, snow-bound winters. Many of these norms are in the process of being upended, however, by a rapidly altering climate, with new research finding the area is heating up faster than almost anywhere else on Earth. The breakneck speed of New England’s transformation makes it the fastest-heating area of the US, bar the Alaskan Arctic, and the pace of its temperature rise has apparently increased in the past five years, according to the study.

“The temperature is not only increasing, it’s accelerating,” said Stephen Young, a climate researcher at Salem State University, who conducted the study, published in the Climate journal, with his son Joshua Young. “It’s really sped up in recent years, which surprised me. Our climate is moving in a new direction, after being relatively stable in the past 10,000 years. “Along with the Arctic and parts of Europe and China, the north-east US is one of the fastest-warming regions in the world. New England is now heading towards being like the south-eastern US.”

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They found that New England has heated up by 2.5C (4.5F) on average from 1900 to 2024. This is far in excess of the global average, with the world warming by around 1.3C in this time due to the release of heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels. “That is very fast, which is worrying,” said Young. The rise in temperatures is eroding the severe cold that New England winters are known for. Minimum temperatures and night-time temperatures are rising faster than maximum and daytime temperatures, while the winters are heating up at twice the rate of other seasons.

This is leading to a dwindling of snowy conditions in New England. The region has had 18% fewer days where snow is lying on the ground, on average, since 2000, according to the study, with a notable retreat of snow cover in fall and spring seasons. This is pronounced in the southern portion of New England, where snow cover is receding faster than almost any other snowy area in the world. A major reason for this unusual buildup of heat may be changes to the Atlantic Ocean that buffets the New England coastline. The oceans are absorbing more than 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere, with recent years seeing record-breaking ocean temperatures.

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https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2025/dec/03/new-england-warming