Posted on 04/17/2025 4:14:25 AM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Some of the country’s most beloved national parks – including many across the West – could see substantial jumps in the number of extremely hot days in coming decades, according to a new report.
The nonprofit Climate Central analyzed data from the National Park Service and found that by 2050, the 25 most visited parks are likely to have five times as many extremely hot days – compared to recent decades. Climate Central defines extreme heat as a high temperature above the 99th percentile for the roughly three decade period between 1979 and 2012.
For example, Utah’s Zion National Park has four days annually on average above 92.4 degrees – its 99th percentile temperature. That could jump to 21 days, or even higher. Extreme heat can be dangerous for visitors, and can harm ecosystems and infrastructure. You can find the data for the other 24 most visited parks here.
Patrick Gonzalez is a forest ecologist at the University of California, Berkeley and former principal climate scientist at the Park Service. He said that climate change is already seriously impacting parks: melting glaciers, raising tree mortality, shrinking the diversity of bird species, among many other consequences.
“If we don't cut carbon pollution, climate change could heat temperatures across the national parks up to 9 degrees Celsius,” he said. “That's 16 degrees Fahrenheit by the end of the century in national parks in Alaska, and to a lesser degree in the lower 48.”
Such heat, he says, could melt all the glaciers in Glacier National Park, among other dramatic changes.
“Adaptation measures are necessary, but they are only Band-Aids,” Gonzalez said. “The published scientific research shows that cutting carbon pollution from cars, power plants, deforestation and other human activities is the only solution that reduces the cause of climate change and can protect ecosystems and cultural sites and all of the remarkable resources in our national parks.
“I hope that the love that visitors show for our national parks translates into meaningful personal action to cut carbon pollution and save our national parks for the future.”
Horse pucky. From the green whores’ pucky supply....
that darn climate change!! Why is it always harassing national parks!!
2050?
I thought we only had 5.72 years left
These crooks won’t give up the con until a few of them hang.
The Global Warming scam, after a long run, is finally cooling off. Fewer and fewer people are buying it. Good riddance.
Yes, they have been kicking the can down the road around 5 years at a whack, since that isn't working out well, now 25 years.
Modern day Millerites.
Didn’t Al Gore wear that record out?
Based on CC BS, CC could see its days numbered.
“Climate Central”...part of the NGO grift.
Do a little digging in how they are funded. It will make your head spin.
When the facts don’t fit today, just say it’ll happen in the future. ...sigh
Headline says “could” OR... that also means it could not. What a useless article.
Hey did you know it may rain tomorrow (or may not),.
Forecasting weather 25 years out. Dress appropriately.
More from the Idaho commies.
Boise PUBLIC radio - says it all right there.
So Death Valley National Park/Monument will have 900 days per year of “extremely hot”?!?? (5 x 180 = 900...DV averages 180 days over 92.4 deg.) Average high temp in DV in December is 65 degrees so their math doesn’t work out.
What a complete pile of crap. This is what passes for “science” today, at least among imbeciles.
From reading these “climate experts” opinions I am starting to believe that each national park will develop their own sun...and each park will supernova on the day of the year when they are most crowded. That said, I am staying inside for the next decade just to be safe.
Climate Central a propaganda organ, has been generating junk science for many years. Five times as many 90 degree days in the next 25 years? It beggars description. But as with many pseudo-predictions in the pass, no one notices when they fail to happen.
It’s always the same old stuff it seems like...always connected to carbon, & I assume they mean CO2. Let’s just wait & see what happens first. We can always decide to stay home if it looks to be too hot in our favorite National Park. Seems like I had read sometime ago that hot weather creates CO2; not the other way around.
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