From government planners to farmers to residents, those wondering how climate change will affect Minnesota in the decades to come can now get the information at their fingertips. Officials behind a new tool say it can help with certain types of planning.
The University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership recently launched the interactive digital tool called MN CliMAT. Users can map out predictions, such as how much snow cover would be lost during the winter by 2060, based on scenarios involving greenhouse gas emissions.
Nate Meyer, acting interim director of the University of Minnesota Climate Adaptation Partnership, said they want to help the public make informed decisions when looking ahead.
“If someone is wondering when they might want to replace their roof with something like a fortified roofing system, one way that they can gather information to answer that question is to use these climate projections,” Meyer explained.
The user can see how the immediate area surrounding a structure would become more susceptible to heavy rain events. Another example is the agricultural industry getting a sense of future soil health, helping farmers plan for strategies to make their land more climate resilient.
Meyer pointed out the service, which is free, can also be a great resource for those tasked with protecting towns and cities from the worst effects of climate change.
“We are working with a number of regulatory agencies and policymakers right now on strategies to help them select data that are most useful for their purposes,” Meyer noted. “Then fold those data into the models that they need to use for those planning purposes.”
In a state known for its outdoor recreation, project leaders said the data can benefit Minnesota’s tourism industry if stakeholders know about things like future swings in lake temperatures. Since its launch, Meyer said the tool has garnered more than 50,000 views.