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Climate Change

Scientists monitor Yellowstone’s temperature at different elevations, snowpack, water, greening of plants, wildlife, and other resources for shifts that may reflect a changing climate.

NPS / Jim Peaco

 

Yellowstone's climate is changing. Climate is one of the primary drivers of the processes that make an ecosystem look and function the way it does. Weather reflects the short-term conditions of the atmosphere. Climate consists of the long-term averages of daily weather, usually in 30-year periods. Change in climate can greatly alter ecosystems.

Scientists have monitored Yellowstone's climate for decades. Studying climate is complicated and the impacts of climate change are difficult to predict. Current research indicates Yellowstone's temperature will continue to rise over the next century, but the behavior of precipitation is more difficult to predict. Scientists have already documented these changes in Yellowstone:

• Average temperatures in the park are higher now than they were 50 years ago, especially during springtime. Nighttime temperatures seem to be increasing more rapidly than daytime temperatures.
• In the last 50 years, the growing season (the time between the last freeze of spring and the first freeze of fall) has increased by roughly 30 days in some areas of the park.
• At the northeast entrance, there are now 80 more days per year above freezing than there were in the 1960s.
• There are approximately 30 fewer days per year with snow on the ground than there were in the 1960s.

You can compare historic averages to projected averages for Greater Yellowstone's temperature, precipitation, snow water equivalent, and more with the Greater Yellowstone Area Climate Explorer. Data from weather stations and stream gauges in the greater Yellowstone area are available at The Climate Analyzer.

A continued rise in temperature will fundamentally alter Yellowstone's ecosystem:

• Likely affecting the composition of plants and animals throughout the park.
• Altering the amount and timing of spring snowmelt, which affects water levels, vegetation growth, and the movement of wildlife from migrating bison to spawning trout to the arrival of pollinators. As headwaters to significant water basins, any change in the rivers flowing out of Yellowstone affects downstream users like ranchers, farmers, towns, and cities.
• Fire frequency and season length could increase.

Scientists continue to monitor climate in Yellowstone and are developing models to help predict how park resources might respond to changing conditions. Park managers are reducing the park's carbon footprint by helping employees and visitors replace consumptive habits with more sustainable practices and by sharing the best practices and resources with local communities and partners.

Yellowstone will continue to preserve the park's biodiversity, natural processes, and cultural resources, while also protecting the trails and infrastructure that allow visitors to experience those wonders. As climate change unfolds, the park will share stories of how nature and people adapt to our changing environment.

 

More Information

• Changes in Yellowstone Climate
• Global Climate Change
• Episode 8: Watershed Down, Yellowstone InDepth: Scientists are documenting significant changes in the amount of snow that falls in Yellowstone.
• Yellowstone Science issue is dedicated to research on climate change in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem.
• Sustainability: Yellowstone incorporates sustainable practices into everyday operations
• Greater Yellowstone Climate Monitoring: Synthesized climate data for Yellowstone and other nearby parks.
• Great Northern Landscape Conservation Cooperative: A public-private partnership conserves the region's landscapes by sharing science and capacity across boundaries.
• Climate Change (National Park Service)