In the midwest the population is about 61 million. States include Illinois, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Lowa, Michigan, Ohio, Missouri, Indiana, Kansas, Nebraska, South and North Dakota and Oklahoma. The Midwest is home to expansive agricultural lands, forests in the north, the Great Lakes, and substantial industrial activity.Air and water pollution, and landscape changes, and exhibits multiple vulnerabilities to both climate variability and climate change.The rate of warming in the Midwest has markedly accelerated over the past few decades. Between 1900 …show more content…
Precipitation occurs about once every seven days in the western part of the region and once every three days in the southeastern part. The 10 rainiest days can contribute as much as 40% of total precipitation in a given year. Generally, annual precipitation increased during the past century (by up to 20% in some locations), with much of the increase driven by intensification of the heaviest rainfalls.,,This tendency towards more intense precipitation events is projected to continue in the future.The Great Lakes, North America’s largest freshwater feature, have recently recorded higher water temperatures and less ice cover as a result of changes in regional climate.Summer surface water temperatures in Lakes Huron increased 5.2°F and in Lake Ontario, 2.7°F, between 1968 and 2002, with smaller increases in Lake Erie., Due to the reduction in ice cover, the temperature of surface waters in Lake Superior during the summer increased 4.5°F, twice the rate of increase in air temperature. These lake surface temperatures are projected to rise by as much as 7°F by 2050 and 12.1°F by 2100., Higher temperatures, increases in precipitation, and lengthened growing seasons favor production of blue-green and toxic algae that can harm fish, water quality, habitats, and aesthetics,, and could heighten the impact of invasive species already present.In the Great Lakes, the average annual maximum ice coverage