Climate Change in Yarmouth
Changing climate conditions pose new risks to our community. Yarmouth is committed to ensuring our families, businesses, and natural environment are healthy, safe, and thriving - today and into the future. We have an opportunity to act now to invest in thoughtful solutions and protect our quality of life.
Learn more about how the climate has changed over time, what scientists project for the next decades, and how climate change impacts our community.
Why is our climate changing?
Greenhouse gasses (GHGs) create the conditions for life on earth by trapping heat in the atmosphere and regulating Earth’s temperature. However, since the 1800s, human activities (such as cutting down forests and burning coal, oil, and gas) have increased the amount of GHGs in the atmosphere, trapping excess energy and disrupting the Earth's climate . This changing climate brings a range of hazards throughout the world such as extreme heat, intense storms, and rising sea levels.
Impacts of a changing climate.
Click through the menu below to explore some of the ways climate change is (and will) impact Yarmouth.
Warmer, more variable Temperatures
Yarmouth can expect 20 to 30 more high heat days each year by 2050. That's an additional month each year of days over 90 degrees!
High temperatures intensify the need for emergency services (like cooling centers), increase the health risks for vulnerable residents, jeopardize water supplies, and increase energy usage which stresses the electricity grid. Continued warming also impacts the ranges of plants, animals, and fisheries.
Reducing our risk.
Climate change brings a range of hazards to Maine that threaten our health, infrastructure, and environment - but local solutions are within reach. At a community scale, we can build capacity to adapt to present, and projected, climate hazards and their resulting impacts. We can build local climate resilience by reducing existing vulnerabilities and take steps to mitigate future hazards. The first step is understanding our risks. As part of the Climate Action Plan effort, Yarmouth conducted a Vulnerability Assessment to identify the people, places, and systems in our community that will be most impacted by climate hazards.
See Maine's Roadmap
Check out Maine's four-year climate plan - Maine Won't Wait and explore the Maine Climate Impact Dashboard
Learn more
Learn more with United Nations Climate Change News and Maine Public Radio's Climate Driven series
Stay Informed & Get in Touch
Subscribe below to receive our newsletter and updates on the Town's climate action efforts.
You can also send us your questions, comments, and ideas by emailing yarmouthclimateaction@gmail.com.