Climate Projections: Chicago Feels Like Texas

While world leaders convene in Copenhagen to try to craft a strategy to deal with climate change, one question looms: What if they fail? If developed and developing nations are unable to agree on emissions regulations and current rates of climate change continue, what will Chicago look like 50 or 100 years down the road?

A report released by the U.S. Global Change Research Program in June detailed some projections of what different regions of the country will look like by the end of the 22nd century. According to the report, even with significant action is taken to limit greenhouse gas emissions, some pretty radical changes are in store for the Midwest.

Noticeable increases in temperature have already been observed in the Midwest in recent years, according to the report, and those temps are projected to continue climbing over the next century. When it does, water levels in Lake Michigan will dip by about 2 feet and Chicago's climate will look something like southern Texas. "A warmer climate generally means more ground-level ozone," according to the report, and that will lead to an increase in respiratory-related health problems.