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Maine Climatologist: Summer Temperatures Lasting Longer As Climate Warms

Lara Eakins
/
Creative Commons

If you feel as though Maine's summer season has lasted longer in recent years, you're not wrong — at least according to Maine state climatologist Sean Birkel.

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration data indicate that average temperatures in Maine have risen more than 2 degrees Celsius since 1895.  That's according to recent analysis provided by the Washington Post.

It's an important milestone when applied on a global scale. But Birkel says that in Maine the most noticeable effect is extended summers.

 

"So we would expect to see summer-like temperatures maybe one week longer than we might have been used to 10 or 20 years ago," Birkel says.

 

Birkel says that increase in temperature is cause for concern. It will likely affect various industries going forward, such as sking in the winter and agriculture in the summer.

 

But, he says, this isn't cause for panic. "We must take it seriously but we also need to bear in mind that we can adapt. And the sooner we begin adapting the better off we'll be."

 

Birkel says deliberate policies can be set to help those industries prepare for the changing climate.

 

Originally published Aug. 16, 2019 at 1:38 p.m. ET.