Canadian wildfires that severely impacted the air quality in New Jersey and other regions of the United States in June 2023 provide a glimpse into how climate change may affect future environmental conditions in the state, according to a new report released by researchers at Rutgers University–New Brunswick.
The report, The State of the Climate: New Jersey 2023, illustrates the unique challenges global climate change presents to residents of the state and details specific New Jersey climate trends, Rutgers scientists said. The report also synthesizes analyses and projections from across the climate change field.
“The Canadian wildfire event demonstrated the linkages between climate change ̶ which exacerbates events like wildfires that can occur hundreds of miles away ̶ and the health impacts here in New Jersey,” said James Shope, an applied climatologist with the Department of Environmental Sciences and the New Jersey Climate Change Resource Center at Rutgers and a coauthor of the report. “The event also serves as a harbinger of how climate change may affect future wildfire potential and air quality in the Garden State.”
Shope said the yearly report provides an updated resource for how climate change hazards can affect human health, ecosystems and agricultural production in New Jersey. “Climate change has increased temperature extremes, sea level and rainfall intensity within New Jersey,” Shope said. “These changes are projected to continue to have downstream effects for everything from agriculture to public health.” To read the full story.