Team 1: Story 2: Climate Change in Mississippi

The Beginnings of Climate Change

Beginning in 1760, amidst towering smokestacks and booming factories filled with men, women and children, the Industrial Revolution surged forth with relentless force, heralding a new era of innovation and upheaval. With this explosion of industry, human impact on the environment skyrocketed on a global scale. Centuries later, as societies have continued to progress ten-fold, climate change looms as an ever-present threat to life on Earth.

In recent years, the presence of climate change and its global impacts have been heavily debated topics amongst world leaders, state legislatures and around dinner tables all over the world. Research has shown that global temperatures are on the rise, and with it, devastating consequences have ensued. According to the Climate Reality Project, some examples of climate change impact have been more severe, flood-producing storms, rising sea levels, increasing temperatures and loss of natural resources and habitats.

Mississippi is no exception to climate change’s environmental impacts. From coastal region flooding to decreasing yields of crop production, Mississippi is experiencing the full effect of climate change.

Rising Sea Levels

Ashlyn Moore, a junior studying broadcast meteorology at Mississippi State University, has conducted extensive research on climate change’s effects on coastal environments. Moore explained how a seemingly miniscule increase in global temperature over the last century has led to drastic effects on the environment.

“Right now, the global temperature has risen by two degrees Celsius, which doesn’t seem like a lot, but if you look back at data, just a one to two degree drop of temperature is what put us in a little ice age,” Moore said, referring to the climate event that spanned from the early 14th century to the mid-19th century. “So, that two degrees increase in temperature that we’re experiencing is enough to cause drastic changes and influence the weather patterns that we’re seeing.”

Moore explained that this rise in global temperatures has led to warming of ocean temperatures and the melting of glaciers, both of which have led to rising sea levels. According to the National Ocean Service (NOAA), global sea levels have risen over the last century, with rates increasing over recent decades. NOAA reported that sea levels are rising at a rate of one inch every seven to eight years.
With rising sea levels, coastal regions have become increasingly more susceptible to flooding. According to the Climate Reality Project, there are roughly 75,000 Mississippians living in regions that are at risk for coastal flooding, with a projected 13,000 more to be at risk by 2050.

Storm surges are a driving force behind coastal flooding. NOAA defines storm surges as “the abnormal rise in seawater level during a storm.” Moore explained that because of the increase in sea levels, these storm surges can become a dangerous and potentially deadly effect of otherwise benign storms due to the flooding they cause in coastal communities.

Changing Weather Patterns

A predicted effect of climate change that has begun to wreak havoc across the globe is drastic changes in weather patterns.
The United States Geographical Survey explained how climate change causes tropical storms to become more violent and destructive.

“More heat in the atmosphere and warmer ocean surface temperatures can lead to increased wind speeds in tropical storms. Rising sea levels expose higher locations not usually subjected to the power of the sea and to the erosive forces of waves and currents,” the article read.

Moore further explained how climate change impacts weather conditions along coastal regions.

“So, with the rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and how that’s increasing the temperature, one of the ways that that affects the weather is the ocean temperature is warming,” Moore said. “With that warming temperature, hurricanes are more likely to become stronger and those hurricane winds become stronger. So, in coastal environments, that is causing an issue of coastal erosion where the shorelines are becoming smaller and smaller and the government is having to pour billions of dollars into beach renourishment projects to widen the shorelines. Otherwise, the people who live in the communities are having to move away.”

Climate change has also brought about an increase in annual rainfall with rain arriving in heavy downpours that cause increased flash flooding in areas across Mississippi, as well as in the rest of the world.

Rising temperatures are expected to cause an increase of heatwaves and droughts throughout Mississippi. Climate Change Resources states that currently, Mississippi averages 25 days a year with temperatures exceeding dangerous levels above 100 degrees Fahrenheit. This number is projected to rise to 100 days annually by the year 2050. The article also states that Mississippi is expected to experience an increase of over 100% of drought severity by 2050.

Climate Change's Impact on Agriculture

Mississippi’s economy relies on agriculture. Prakash Jha, an assistant professor of Agricultural Climatology at MSU explained that in Mississippi, there are three major agricultural sectors: crop production, livestock and aquaculture facilities.

Jha shared how rising temperatures due to climate change could lead to consequences for Mississippi’s crop production.

“So, extreme scenario would be no control of any kind of greenhouse gas emissions. There will be bigger impacts on higher temperatures and precipitation distribution patterns,” Jha said. “When I say precipitation distribution patterns, mainly rain for Mississippi is in the early seasons of the year from January to April. However, we see the dry period of the crop growing season from July to August. So, in the future climate, you will see more dry periods in the peak growing season, and then heavy amounts of rain for the early season. For the temperature, you will see four to five degrees Celsius increase in temperature across the 21st century when we cross that.”

Jha continued, explaining that this does not have to be the case for Mississippi’s future.

“If we do some kind of mitigation business, then we can control those emissions and then technology we develop in the future can help in controlling those impacts,” Jha said.

The Climate Reality Project revealed that climate change’s effects of increased temperatures during summer have led to smaller yields of crop production as well as negative effects on livestock, as heat stress disrupts many animals’ metabolism, making them sicker and weaker.
Jha explained that different industries scale climate change’s effects in different ways. Some sectors have even experienced positive effects from climate change.

“There are some positive impacts. For example, there is more concentration of carbon dioxide, that helps with more biomass development, more greenery. If there is more CO2, there is more rubisco in the cell, there is more photosynthesis. Those who are working on biomass in the industry, it benefits them,” Jha said. “Some industries, those who are looking for crops which can grow through the winter, there is more frost-free days, they can grow those kinds of specific crops for their own benefit. So, I see some benefits, but mostly negative consequences.”

Jha shared that there are several ways people working with agriculture can help mitigate the negative effects that climate change has on Mississippi.

“As an agricultural researcher, I can say that the technology that we develop in the lab with the field conditions and experimental designs, that technology can be transferred to the growers. So, the transfer of technology is one way,” Jha said. “Another way is how to communicate with non-scientists and non-ag folks like policy makers. We’ll let them know what are the impacts of climate change, what policies need to be done on the state level, the county level, and based on that, they can design the policy. These kinds of approaches make people aware of the impact of climate change.

Combatting Climate Channge in Mississippi

Some countries are ahead of the curve in terms of combatting climate change. Many European countries, for example, are leading the charge and have implemented laws designed to help minimize their contribution to climate change. Many would argue that the United States has fallen behind.

Climate Change Resources states that Mississippi has not implemented policies to mitigate future consequences of climate change. Because of this, Mississippi earned an F on Climate Central’s States at Risk Preparedness Report Card, as assessment of states’ climate responsive policies.

Jha encourages Mississippians to begin the fight against climate change on an individual level by adopting more climate-conscious habits.

“We as Mississippians, what we can do is adopt better practices to minimize greenhouse gas emissions, like switching off the lights when we don’t need that, switching off the air conditioner when we can manage with a fan, driving cars less, these are the basic practices we can do to minimize the footprint of carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions.”

Email the team at cmh1189@msstate.edu with any questions

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