Rising Temperatures in U.S.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has released a report, Climate Change Indicators in the United States, and as the accompanying graphic shows, many parts of the country have experienced sharp temperature increases over the past century. The Northeast, Midwest, and West all experienced significant warming from 1901 to 2008, with temperatures soaring by 2 to 4 degrees F in much of New England, the Upper Great Plains, and southern California and southern Arizona. Nearly all of Alaska also warmed by up to 4 degrees F — well above the global average of 1.3 degrees F over the last century. Some parts of the southern U.S. experienced a temperature decrease of up to 1 degree F over the last century, the report said. The EPA report also said that greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. had increased 14 percent from 1990 to 2008 and that global greenhouse gas emissions had jumped by 26 percent from 1990 to 2005. In addition to rising temperatures, the report said the U.S. also has seen an increase in heat waves since the 1970s, declining snow cover and mountain snow pack, and a rise in sea surface temperatures.