Climate Change in Illinois

Global warming, or more precisely global climate change, has become a major issue in the last few decades. Climate change in Illinois, the nation, and the world has had and will continue to have direct and indirect impacts on Illinois. This site provides some insights on climate change in Illinois and how it relates to the U.S. and the world. A more extensive discussion of the past climate and possible scenarios of the future climate of Illinois can be found on the Illinois Water Supply Planning web site.

Illinois

• Annual temperature and precipitation trends
• Seasonal temperature and precipitation trends
• snowfall trend
• drought trend
• tornado frequency trend
• benchmark climate sites
• precipitation trends in northeast Illinois
• ten warmest years on record for Illinois
• future scenarios of climate change

United States

• temperature and precipitation trends
• annual and seasonal temperature trends (maps)

World

• mean global temperature trend

Illinois State Water Survey Resources

• Global Climate Change: What Will It Mean for Illinois? (a slide show)
• Winstanley, D., and S. A. Changnon, 2004: Insights to Key Questions About Climate Change. Illinois State Water Survey Informational/Educational Material 2004-01, Champaign, Illinois, 114 pp. (616k PDF file)
• Climate of Illinois and Central United States: Comparison of Model Simulations of the Current Climate, Comparison of Model Sensitivity to Enhanced Greenhouse Gas Forcing, and Regional Climate Model Simulations - Kenneth E. Kunkel and Xin-Zhong Liang, Atmospheric Environment Section, Illinois State Water Survey
  • Part 1: Text (800k PDF file)
  • Part 2: Figures (3.8 Mb PDF file)
• Water Survey Regional Climate Modeling Program

Other Resources within Illinois

• Illinois Climate Change Advisory Group
• Illinois Conservation and Climate Initiative
• University of Illinois Department of Atmospheric Sciences

Outside Resources

• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
• U.S. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center
• U.S. Climate Change Science Program
• U.S. Global Change Research Program
• U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Global Warming
• U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Global Climate Change
• U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Global Change Research
• U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
• U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA)

These external links do no imply an official endorsement by the Water Survey and may not reflect the views of the Illinois State Water Survey, Illinois Department of Natural Resources, or the State of Illinois. See this disclaimer for our full policy on external links.