WORKING WATERFRONT • October 21, 2020
A new assessment of climate change and its effects on the state provides concrete numbers that confirm what many here already sense—Maine is warming. The average temperature is 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than in 1895; the Gulf of Maine is 2.9 degrees warmer. The weather has become more extreme and variable. More rain falls more often, causing more flooding, washing pollutants into streams and rivers, threatening to undo great gains in water quality over the last few decades. Storms pummel the coast, and even a monthly high tide can cause flooding, because the sea is rising. Meanwhile, droughts are made worse by warmer temperatures. The 370-page assessment, released in September, represents the work of the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Maine Climate Council.