Wednesday, April 21, 2010

Just some old mountains National Park?

What will we call Glacier National Park after the glaciers are gone?

A warming climate is changing the face of Glacier National Park. Here are the climate change facts:

Between 1900 and 1979, the Glacier Park area experienced an average of 181 days every year when the temperature dipped below freezing.

Between 1980 and 2005, warming had reduced the number of below-freezing days to 152.

The region now experiences, on average, eight more days each year when temperatures top 90 degrees, and eight fewer days when the mercury falls below zero. And over the past decade, the park warmed at twice the rate of the overall planet.

Many of the park's small glaciers are gone and others are shrinking fast. Of the 150 or so glaciers that existed in 1850, perhaps 25 remain. Most if not all, will melt out over the next 10 years.

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