The US region known for its colonial history, maple syrup and bitterly cold, snow-covered winters is experiencing a rapid change. New research indicates that New England is warming faster than nearly any other place on the Earth.
The rate of warming in New England makes it the fastest-heating area of the contiguous United States, according to the research. The pace of its temperature rise has reportedly increased significantly in the past five years.
"Temperatures is not only rising, it's accelerating," said a lead researcher on the project. "It's really sped up in the past few years, which was unexpected to me. Our regional climate is moving in a new direction, after being largely consistent for thousands of years."
The analysis places the north-eastern US among the most rapidly heating zones in the world, alongside the polar region and sections of Europe and China. "New England is now heading towards being like the south-eastern US," the scientist added.
For the analysis, researchers examined multiple data sources on daily temperature extremes and snowpack dating back to 1900. The analysis encompassed the six states of the New England region.
They discovered that New England has heated up by an mean of 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit from 1900 to 2024. This is substantially higher than the worldwide mean, with the planet warming by approximately 1.3°C in the same period.
"That is extremely rapid warming, which is worrying," commented the researcher.
A major cause for this exceptional build-up of heat may be changes in the North Atlantic. The world's oceans are absorbing more than 90% of the excess heat captured by emissions.
In the region near New England, an increase of cold, fresh water from Greenland’s melting glaciers is slowing down the Atlantic current. This is directing heated ocean water into the Gulf of Maine, congregating heat along the shoreline that is then carried inland by wind patterns.
"Surplus thermal energy from global warming is being stored in the sea like a massive storage unit," explained the researcher. "This is now being discharged into the air and New England is a recipient of that energy."
Once seen as a mild climate haven, New England has suffered severe weather shocks in the past decade, including enormous flooding and extended drought.
The increasing temperatures poses a threat to iconic elements of regional life:
"I live just north of Boston and when I moved here in the 1990s I used to skate on the local ponds all the time," said the researcher. "That tradition has pretty much disappeared from much of the southern part of the region."
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