Climate Change: What it Means for the Hudson Valley

Mid-Hudson Valley communities will face a new normal of more frequent and intense flooding, heat waves and droughts caused by global warming. Since 1970, New York’s annual average temperature has increased nearly 2 degrees Fahrenheit and the state’s winter temperatures are up by almost 5 degrees Fahrenheit, both outpacing global and U.S. averages.

The Mid-Hudson Valley has experienced climate change most dramatically in the form of frequent flooding and storm surges, short-term droughts and heat waves, and the impacts are likely to get worse, according to studies by Cornell University and data from the state Water Resource Institute. Total annual precipitation is projected to rise from 48 inches in the baseline period of 1971 to 2000, to 49.5-52 inches in the 2020s, 49.5 inches to 53.5 inches in the 2050s, and up to 56.5 inches by 2100. Likewise, sea levels are expected to rise up to 27 inches in the 2050s to a maximum of 71 inches in 2100. The number of days with temperatures above 90 degrees Fahrenheit could rise from the baseline of 12 per year in 2000 to 31-47 by the 2050s.