Authors

Source

Type

Peer Review

Audience

Pages

Notes

Climate change models project that by the end of the next century, Iowa is expected to
experience temperature increases of 4½ to 10°F and as much as 30% more precipitation than
today.1 There is a scientific consensus that emissions from the burning of fossil fuels,
deforestation, and agriculture, have caused an accumulation of greenhouse gases, including
carbon dioxide (CO2) in our atmosphere which is already altering Earth’s climate and is
expected to have a much more powerful impact in the future. Some models project that these
climate changes, in combination with higher concentrations of atmospheric CO2 and
appropriate farmer adaptation, could mean higher crop yields and a longer growing season in
Iowa. However, higher temperatures and considerably more rainfall also mean that heat
waves, floods and droughts will occur more often, last longer, and inflict greater damage than
they do today. Potential impacts of these climate changes to Iowans include decreased yields,
increased crop failures, more pest and pathogen outbreaks, increased soil erosion, and threats
to groundwater quality from pesticide and herbicide runoff and groundwater contamination.