Flood watches are posted for the southern half of Minnesota ahead of a round of storms that could bring 1-4 inches of rain

MPR News helps you turn down the noise and build shared understanding. Turn up your support for this public resource and keep trusted journalism accessible to all. 

Turn Up Your Support

You may have missed it in this extreme news year, but climate changes in the north are happening at a record pace: Icy Siberia has seen 

 are emitting record greenhouse gas emissions; and 

 in the Arctic hit its lowest level ever recorded in July. 

 in the Great Lakes have been breaking records. 

, a researcher with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory, said he’s seen temperatures as high as 78 degrees Fahrenheit in Lake Erie.  

“Summer temperatures in the lakes are all trending upward,” he said. “We’ve see warmer water temperatures over roughly the last four decades. It sounds small if I give you the number — typically, it's around a half a degree per decade — but that's actually quite a lot of change for these large bodies of water.”

Anderson spoke with MPR News chief meteorologist and Climate Cast host Paul Huttner. You can hear their conversation using the audio player above.

Warming winters increase erosion

A record-breaking year for ocean temperatures

Crop failure rate increasing with climate change

Environmental News

Climate

MPR News Programs and Podcasts

Climate Cast ®

Shows

All Things Considered

NewsPartners

Host

Author

Water temperatures in the Great Lakes have been trending upward for decades, but this summer has brought temperatures near 80 degrees Fahrenheit. 

A fever in the north: Great Lakes temperatures breaking records

Go Deeper.

Like this?