News

Continuing the theme from previous blogs, this post completes the Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest U.S. blog series with another perspective from one of the coordinating lead authors of the chapter on adaptation and solutions, “Climate Choices for a Sustainable Southwest.” Susanne Moser, the Director and Principal Researcher of Susanne Moser Research & Consulting, is a leading expert on adaptation, science-policy interactions, decision support, and climate change communication. Below she gives her opinion on the same questions we’ve asked the other authors in this series. (Read more)

The fifteenth chapter of the Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States, entitled “Human Health”, explores the current state of knowledge with regards to climate-related public health threats, such as respiratory ailments from dust and fire-related particulate matter, changes in disease transmission and risk, and heat-related morbidity and mortality. 

Key findings: When it comes to climate impacts on health in the Southwest, the authors focus on three areas—air quality, heat extremes, and diseases: (read more)

In our last blog, Gregg Garfin introduced the Assessment of Climate Change in the Southwest United States. This week, we focus on the ecosystems chapter (Chapter 8: Natural Ecosystems) where Coordinating Lead Author Erica Fleishman from University of California, Davis and a dozen other authors describe observed changes in geographic distributions and phenology (timing of life cycle events such as blooming and migrations) in southwestern ecosystems. They also examine disturbances affecting ecosystems such as wildfires and outbreaks of forest pathogens. (Read more)

What has been the character of the past "decade of drought" in AZ and NM? Can we still expect to see a large wildfire season? What are the climate models showing for this year's monsoon? Zack Guido and Mike Crimmins answer these questions and much more in this month's episode.

Dr. Jeremy Weiss, a senior researcher with UA’s Environmental Studies Laboratory, will discuss the importance of seasonality and elevational gradients for understanding the effects of drought and warming on vegetation in topographically complex regions like the Southwest, and explain how projected changes in future regional climate may potentially further or alter these effects. (read more)

This blog is the second in a two-part series about using feedback from rural Arizonans to improve climate change adaptation research in the region. 

In my last blog, I wrote that discussions with many groups of rural Arizonans revealed that they are highly aware of and concerned about changes that are occurring in our weather and climate, and that they already are engaged in adaptation efforts. What to do with that information? We used qualitative methods to analyze the group discussions, and then developed a model of rural Arizonans’ approach to climate change adaptation. (Read More)

This blog is the first in a two-part series about using feedback from rural Arizonans to improve climate change adaptation research in the region.

As physical scientists help us learn more about climate changes that may occur with global warming, social scientists focus on how we can adapt to those changes.  However, because the interacting effects of both climate change and social forces are highly complex, uncertain, and localized, physical and social scientists may be more effective in addressing the challenges that climate change poses by joining forces and working together in interdisciplinary teams. (Read More)

What can we expect from the fast-approaching fire season? Is it too early to say anything about this year's monsoon season? Learn the answers to these and other questions in this month's Southwest Climate Podcast.

To make decisions about drought declarations, status, and relief funds, decision makers need high quality local-level drought impact data. In response to this need in Arizona, the Arizona DroughtWatch program was created, which includes an online drought impacts reporting system. Despite extensive and intensive collaboration and consultation with the intended public participants, Arizona DroughtWatch has had few consistent users and has failed to live up to its goal of providing decision makers or the public with high quality drought impacts data. (read more)