Climate Projections and Future Flood Risk Maps Inform “A Stronger, More Resilient New York”

Supplementary Press Release for the New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) Climate Risk Information Report

The 2013 New York City Panel on Climate Change (NPCC) Climate Risk Information Report was released today in conjunction with the release of the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Recovery Report during a major policy speech by Mayor Michael Bloomberg.  William Solecki, professor of Geography at Hunter College and director of the CUNY Institute for Sustainable Cities, is co-chair of the NPCC.

In 2008, Mayor Bloomberg convened the New York City Panel on Climate Change—making New York one of the first American cities to organize a group of leading climate and social scientists to develop local climate change projections. Their findings, released in a groundbreaking report in 2009, described the climate impacts New York could expect in the future – which include not just sea level rise and more frequent coastal storm surge, but increased heat and more frequent and intense downpours. In September 2012, the City passed Local Law 42 to establish the Panel on Climate Change as an ongoing body to advise the City on the latest climate science.

Following Hurricane Sandy, Mayor Bloomberg re-convened the New York City Panel on Climate Change to update its projections and develop future coastal flood risk maps and to provide up-to-date scientific information and analyses on climate risks for use in the Special Initiative for Rebuilding and Resiliency (SIRR). This information is designed to inform community-rebuilding plans, and help increase current and future resiliency of communities, as well as citywide systems and infrastructure to a range of climate risks.

Using the latest global climate change models, local information, and peer-reviewed scientific literature, the NPCC projects that by mid-century, New York City’s mean annual temperature may increase by 4 to 5.5 degrees Fahrenheit.  Annual precipitation is also projected to increase by 5 to 10 percent, and sea level is projected to rise 11 to 24 inches.

The Mayor released the report today in an extensive presentation to elected officials, business and community leaders, and leading climate experts at the Duggal Greenhouse – which was damaged during Hurricane Sandy and has since reopened as one of the Brooklyn Navy Yard’s 330 businesses.