Vulnerability and adaptation

Climate stressors such as higher temperatures, increasing variation in precipitation patterns, and changes in lake levels are likely to increase the vulnerability of human systems in cities, rural and coastal communities, and tribes to extreme events—including flooding, drought, heat waves, and more intense urban heat island effects. Climate stressors compound existing non-climate stressors, such as economic downturns, shrinking cities, and deteriorating infrastructure.

Residents of the Midwest are already experiencing adverse health impacts from climate change, and these impacts are expected to worsen in the future. The risks are especially high for people whose age, income level, or amount of social connectivity make them more vulnerable. 

Species in the Midwest are already responding to environmental changes that have occurred over the last several decades, and climate change over the next century is expected to cause or amplify those stresses for many species and ecosystems.

Forests are a defining characteristic of Midwest landscapes, covering more than 91 million acres. Forest ecosystems sustain the people and communities within the region by providing ecological, economic, and cultural benefits. The economic output of the Midwest forestry sector totals around $122 billion per year; forest-related recreation adds to the region’s economy.

Corn and soybeans are the Midwest’s two main commodity crops, grown on 75 percent of the region’s arable land. Wheat and oats, grown on fewer acres, are also important, and an increasing number of speciality crops with higher values—including apples, grapes, cherries, cranberries, blueberries, and pumpkins—are grown in the region.