1/ Our world is getting warmer. But how much will temperatures in US cities change by 2050, one generation from now? We crunched the data — looking at average summer high and winter low temperatures in 1,000 US cities in the lower 48 states — to find out. bit.ly/2AAAsTv
2/ Why 2050? It’s a world you’ll (probably) be living in. And it’s the one we’re definitely handing off to the next generation. By then, scientists expect average global warming since preindustrial levels to be twice what we've seen as of 2018.
3/ By 2050, every season in every city and town in America will shift, subtly or drastically, as average temperatures creep up.
Heat waves around the US could last up to a month. Winters will lose days in the 20s and 30s.
Heat waves around the US could last up to a month. Winters will lose days in the 20s and 30s.
4/ The big takeaway: Warming is happening faster the farther north you go in the US. The weather (and precipitation) in several Northern cities will look and feel a lot like how Southern cities do today. In some cities, it’ll be like moving two states south.
5/ An average increase of a few degrees to your summer and winter weather may not seem bad. But buried in these averages are extreme weather events — heat waves, severe rainstorms, and droughts — that will be much more damaging and dangerous than the smaller shifts in averages.
6/ And so much of a city’s culture and economy depends on the particulars of the local climate.
What happens to New Hampshire’s tourism if there’s little snow for skiing? Where will Phoenix, Arizona, get its water when the Colorado River slows to a trickle?
What happens to New Hampshire’s tourism if there’s little snow for skiing? Where will Phoenix, Arizona, get its water when the Colorado River slows to a trickle?
7/ “The timing and total rainfall of the rainy season really matter for agriculture,” said Kate Marvel, a climate scientist at the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies. “What matters for city dwellers is the increase in precipitation extremes.”
8/8 Want learn more about the future weather in your city? Check out our story and our interactive charts: bit.ly/2AAAsTv 
