Climate change in Pennsylvania

In 2021, Pennsylvania experienced areas of extreme flooding due to Hurricane Ida, which was noted as having characteristics that are probably more common in a warmer climate: the intensity, the rapid intensification, and the amount of rainfall over land.

[1] The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that Pennsylvania has warmed more than half a degree (F) in the last century, heavy rainstorms are more frequent, and the tidal portion of the Delaware River is rising about one inch every eight years.

In 2011, Hurricane Irene caused the Schuylkill River to overflow its banks, flooding a rail line, bike path, and other infrastructure in Philadelphia.

[2] The EPA reports that sea level is rising more rapidly along Pennsylvania's shoreline than in most coastal areas because the Delaware Valley is sinking.

[2] The tidal freshwater wetlands along the Delaware River are likely to capture enough sediment for their land surfaces to keep pace with rising sea level.

But both rising sea level and increasing drought enable salt water to mix farther up the Delaware River, which could kill wetland plants.

Warmer temperatures allow deer populations to increase, leading to a loss of forest underbrush, which, in turn, makes some animals more vulnerable to predators.

Longer frost-free growing seasons and higher concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide would increase yields for many crops during an average year, notably soybeans.