The Climate Impacts Group plays a key role in supporting climate adaptation across the state of Washington. 

The Climate Impacts Group supports the state of Washington in understanding and adapting to the impacts of climate change. Funding from the Washington state legislature, combined with other efforts and funding sources, enables the Climate Impacts Group to have an impact beyond our applied research. This funding helps us support local and state governments, Tribes, organizations, businesses, and others across Washington state in their efforts to build climate resilience.

We also are host to the Office of the Washington State Climatologist, which focuses on providing technical information and analyses, training and capacity building, and collaborating on new applied climate research in the Pacific Northwest. 

Impact Stories

Funding from the Washington state legislature makes it possible for the Climate Impacts Group to pursue powerful work designed to directly support the resilience of Washington communities. Below are some examples of efforts the Climate Impacts Group has led to advance climate resilience. 

Preparing for extreme heat

Funding from Washington state supported an assessment of the risk factors that lead to illness and death from extreme heat, as well as relevant policy interventions. This assessment is the foundation for a collaboration between the Climate Impacts Group, the Washington State Department of Health, the Office of the Washington State Climatologist, and the UW Center for Health and the Global Environment that is developing statewide guidance on extreme heat to reduce illness and save lives.

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Guiding large-landscape conservation planning

The Climate Impacts Group led the early development of an online conservation tool that supports fast, coordinated action across landscapes to address climate change and development. Support from Washington state filled in funding gaps, allowing for the development of critical cloud-computing technologies as well as engagement activities.

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Building climate resilience in Pierce County floodplains

Floodplain management in regions like Pierce County is complex – and is becoming increasingly complicated due to climate change. Funding from Washington state has supported a seven-year (and counting) partnership between Floodplains for the Future and the Climate Impacts Group, to help floodplain managers incorporate climate change science into their work.

Photo courtesy of Pierce County

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Creating accessible and useful climate change science for Washingtonians

Current climate science assessments are often written by large teams of scientists that take a national or global look at climate change impacts. With funding from the Washington state legislature, the Climate Impacts Group responded to the need for brief, accessible reports that summarize the lengthy assessments and make conclusions relevant to state and local decision makers and frontline communities.

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Impact Data

We reached 41 Washington communities in 2023.

State funding supported more than 300 activities in 2023.

Our most common role was advising on science or data.

We reached 115 different partners with our outreach activities. These audiences included…
30 non-profit organizations	16 Washington local governments	16 academic institutions	13 private businesses	40 “other,” including federal agencies and news outlets