Widespread water impacts. Climate change will impact water in every region, but the vulnerabilities vary. Many regions are very likely to experience increased droughts and floods, and changing patterns of rainfall. The West, Pacific Northwest, and Alaska could see changes in the thickness of snowpack and the timing of snowmelt. We can expect increased infrastructure damage from flooding in coastal areas and melting in permafrost areas.
Prudent action can ensure secure food supply and protect public health.
U.S. crop productivity is very likely to increase over the next few decades, but the gains will not be uniform across the nation. Maintaining our nation s public health infrastructure, from water treatment systems to emergency shelters, will be important for minimizing the impacts of water-borne diseases, heat stress, air pollution, extreme weather events, and diseases transmitted by insects and rodents. Mixed impact on forests. Forest productivity is likely to increase in the short-term as trees respond to higher carbon dioxide levels. However, over the longer term, changes in factors such as fire, insects, droughts, and disease may decrease forest productivity.