Minnesota’s climate is changing – it is happening here and now and will continue well into the future. We see the harmful effects in communities across our state today, from our own health and safety to overwhelmed infrastructure, damaged property, dying trees and culturally important native species, and the inability of population centers to cool off overnight. Climate trends identified through monitoring over decades of changes in temperature and precipitation, snow depth, and lake ice, storms and droughts, our growing season, and more show that Minnesota is becoming warmer and wetter, with more damaging rains, and cold weather warming. More extreme heatwaves and extended periods of drought alternating with intense precipitation are expected in the future.
