What Climate Change Means for Nebraska Page: 1 of 2
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Nebraska's climate is changing. In the past
century, most of the state has warmed by
at least one degree (F). The soil is becoming
drier, and rainstorms are becoming more
intense. In the coming decades, flooding is
likely to increase, yet summers are likely to
become increasingly hot and dry, which would
reduce yields of some crops, require farmers
to use more water, and amplify some risks to
human health.
Our climate is changing because the earth is
warming. People have increased the amount
of carbon dioxide in the air by 40 percent
since the late 1700s. Other heat-trapping
greenhouse gases are also increasing. These
gases have warmed the surface and lower
atmosphere of our planet about one degree
during the last 50 years. Evaporation increases
as the atmosphere warms, which increases
humidity, average rainfall, and the frequency
of heavy rainstorms in many places-but
contributes to drought in others.
Temperature change (*F):
-1 -0.5 0 0. 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5
Rising temperatures in the last century. The
Panhandle has warmed more than the rest of
Nebraska. Source: EPA, Climate Change Indicators in
the United States.Precipitation and Water Resources
Changing the climate is likely to increase the demand for water but make
it less available. Soils will probably continue to become drier, because
warmer temperatures increase evaporation and water use by plants, and
average rainfall during summer is likely to decrease. More evaporation
and less rainfall would reduce the average flow of rivers and streams.
Decreased river flows can create problems for navigation, recreation,
public water supplies, and electric power generation. Commercial
navigation can be suspended during droughts (or floods) when there is
too little water to keep channels deep enough for barge traffic. Decreased
river flows can also lower the water level in lakes and reservoirs, which
may limit municipal water supplies and impair swimming, fishing, and
other recreational activities. Lower flows during a summer drought can
reduce hydroelectric power generation at a time of year when warmer
temperatures increase the demand for electricity for air conditioning.
Conventional power plants also need adequate water for cooling.
Higher temperatures
and drier soils are likely _
to increase the use of
water by more than
25 percent during the
next 50 years, mostly
because of increased
irrigation. Approximately
one-third of the farmland
in Nebraska is irrigated The severe drought of 2012 led to low flow in
with ground water, most rivers across Nebraska. This photo shows the
of which comes from nearly dry riverbed of the Big Nemaha River
the High Plains Aquifer near Falls City. Credit: Mike Andersen, USGS.
System, and municipal
water supplies also reply primarily on ground water. In Nebraska, the
aquifer is only being depleted in a few western areas. But water levels are
declining throughout much of Kansas, where the average temperature
today is similar to what the average temperature of Nebraska is likely to
be 70 to 100 years from now.
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United States. Environmental Protection Agency. What Climate Change Means for Nebraska, pamphlet, August 2016; United States. (https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc949193/m1/1/: accessed July 16, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, UNT Digital Library, https://digital.library.unt.edu; crediting UNT Libraries Government Documents Department.