Climate change indicators in the United States, 2014

EPA publishes this report to communicate information about the science and impacts of climate change, assess trends in environmental quality, and inform decision-making. Climate Change Indicators in the United States, 2014, is the third edition of a report first published by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in 2010 and updated in 2012. This report presents 30 indicators to help readers understand observed long-term trends related to the causes and effects of climate change, the significance of these changes, and their possible consequences for people, the environment, and society. Although each indicator has a connection to climate change, this report is not intended to identify the extent to which a certain indicator is driving climate change, nor the relative role of climate change in causing a trend in an observed indicator. Connections between human activities, climate change, and observed indicators are explored in more detail elsewhere in the scientific literature.