Climate change in Ohio is of concern due to its impacts on the environment, people, and economy of Ohio. The annual mean temperature in Ohio has increased by about 1.2 degrees Fahrenheit (.7 degrees Celsius) since 1895. According to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, “All regions of Ohio have warmed.”

Effects of climate change in Ohio

Temperature

Higher average annual temperatures will increase the incidence of heatwaves. “Northern cities like Cleveland are vulnerable to heat waves, because many houses and apartments lack air conditioning, and urban areas are typically warmer than their rural surroundings.” If current emissions trends continue, “Cincinnati would face at least two heat waves per summer like the one that killed hundreds in Chicago in 1995. Cleveland would face at least one.”

A publication by the Climate System Research Center of the University of Massachusetts Amherst projects that, under the higher emissions scenario where global average temperature increases by 4.0-6.1 degrees Celsius, Cincinnati, Ohio would experience over 80 days a year with temperatures over 90 degrees Fahrenheit, and 29 days a year over 100 degrees Fahrenheit.

Precipitation

Ohio, along with the rest of the Midwest, experienced a 37% increase in the amount of precipitation falling in multi-day precipitation events from 1958 to 2012.[1] Ohio is expected to experience greater amounts of precipitation, but less snowfall in the winter due to the higher temperatures. Accordingly, the risk of flooding in Ohio is due to increase. Greater heavy rainfall in the Midwest are leading to soil erosion and nutrient loss.

Agriculture

Severe droughts would hurt crop yields. “In rural Ohio, ozone levels are high enough to significantly reduce yields of soybeans and winter wheat.”

Climate change may have some benefits in certain respects, however. “Longer frost-free growing seasons and higher concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide would increase yields for some crops during an average year.”

Ecosystems

Changing temperatures will affect which plant species survive in Ohio. “Species that prefer cool soils like Eastern hemlock will find fewer and fewer suitable locations to survive.”

The Great Lakes

Lake Erie in January 2014. Ice cover “on the Great Lakes is forming later or melting sooner.”

“Between 1994 and 2011, reduced ice cover lengthened the shipping season on the lakes by eight days. The Great Lakes are likely to warm another 3° to 7°F in the next 70 years, which will further extend the shipping season.”

Higher water temperature leads to greater algae blooms. Worsening storms also increase run-off into the Great Lakes, and overflow of sewers into the Great Lakes, worsening water quality.

Disease

Areas in Ohio are potentially vulnerable to “formerly tropical illnesses” like Zika and West Nile making their way into the state. Tickborne Diseases (spread by ticks) are an increasing concern in Ohio too as it has been one of the frequently suffered disease. Lyme disease and Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) is also known common.