Kansas

Global climate change poses risks to human health and to terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. Important economic resources such as agriculture, forestry, fisheries, and water resources also may be affected. Warmer temperatures, more severe droughts and floods, and sea level rise could have a wide range of impacts. All these stresses can add to existing stresses on resources caused by other influences such as population growth, land-use changes, and pollution.

Climate Change in Kansas

Below are some of the potential impacts:

• By 2100 temperatures in Kansas could increase by 2°F in spring (with a range of 1-4°F), 3°F in summer (with a range of 1-5°F), and 4°F (with a range of 2-7°F) in fall and winter.
• Higher temperatures and increased frequency of heat waves may increase the number of heat-related deaths and the incidence of heat-related illnesses. Kansas, with its irregular, intense heat waves, could be susceptible.
• Water resources in Kansas are unevenly distributed. In western Kansas, where large-scale farming is common, surface water supplies are scarce and undependable. Groundwater is the principal supply in this region, primarily for irrigation. In eastern and south-central Kansas, where most urban centers are located and the land is better suited for livestock production, surface water is the primary source of water. Runoff in the state is largely influenced by summer rainfall and to a lesser degree by spring snowmelt. A warmer climate would lead to less snow and earlier snowmelt, resulting in higher streamflows in winter and spring. In the summer, without large increases in precipitation, higher temperatures and increased evaporation could lower streamflows and lake levels. Groundwater levels also could be reduced by lower spring and summer recharge. This could exacerbate water shortages, particularly in western Kansas, where streams unregulated by reservoirs currently suffer from long periods of negligible flow and where even the large reservoirs in the Republican and Smoky Hill river basins sometimes cannot provide sufficient water for irrigation.
• In Kansas, production agriculture is a $7.3 billion annual industry, two-thirds of which comes from livestock, mainly cattle. Livestock and dairy production may not be affected, unless summer temperatures rise significantly and conditions become significantly drier. Under these conditions, livestock tend to gain less weight and pasture yields decline, limiting forage. Increases in climate variability could make adaptation by farmers more difficult.
• The wetlands of Kansas are a critically important waterfowl resource. Half the shore birds in North America are believed to stop at Quivira National Wildlife Refuge and nearby Cheyenne Bottoms National Wildlife Refuge during annual migrations. Without such habitat, shore birds, sandhill cranes, pelicans, and many waterfowl would be in jeopardy. Dam construction, agricultural land uses, and demand for irrigation have degraded riverine ecosystems and resulted in significantly reduced fish habitat. Climate change could exacerbate the current threats to Kansas’ ecosystems.

The above are based on from the Environmental Protection Agency's report on climate change, which uses data from the Third Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (2001).

For more info on climate change impacts on Kansas in areas such as water resources, agriculture, forests and ecosystems, you can download pdf of full EPA Report.

CO2: How Does Your State Rank?

Kansas is the highest emitter of C02 of all 50 states and the most populous.

See all rankings

Maps

See CO2 output by sector, coastal population maps, and maps of regional initiatives.

Regional Initiatives

In the absence of federal action, many U.S. states are banding together to explore and employ greenhouse gas-reducing policies.

Kansas participates in the following:

Western Governors' Association (WGA): Clean and Diversified Energy Initiative

Learn about climate initiatives in all U.S. states and regions

Your Impact

Estimate your CO2 footprint by using a carbon calculator such as the one on the Inconvenient Truth web site.

How green is your energy? The EPA has a power profiler that can tell you.