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Mangroves that line the Everglades and Florida Bay are migrating landward in response to coastal saltwater intrusion, but this migration is only predicted to keep pace with sea level rise that is less than 1 ft. (0.3 m) over the next century (NPS 2009).

The Florida Keys are already experiencing effects of storm surge, overwash, and salinity encroachment, and increasing sea level rise could reduce the amount of habitat available to endangered species such as the Key deer (Odocoileus virginianus clavium) and silver rice rats (Oryzomys palustris natator). An increase in intensity of storms could further contribute to loss of habitat, destruction of natural barriers, and direct mortality of wildlife. For example, Hurricane Andrew, a category 5 storm, destroyed over 80% of the mangroves in the vicinity of Highland Beach in Everglades National Park (Smith et al. 1994).

he NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW) Coral Bleaching Thermal Stress Outlook indicates that there is a high potential for coral bleaching in the Caribbean in 2010. The 2009-2010 El Niño ended in May 2010. However, the Caribbean typically experiences elevated temperature during the second year of an El Niño event. Since the beginning of 2010, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in most of the Caribbean region and tropical Atlantic Ocean have been observed more than 1ºC above the normal (see the SST anomaly figure below), based on Coral Reef Watch's climatology. This pattern is similar to, but has persisted much longer than, what occurred during the same time period in 2005.

The NOAA Coral Reef Watch (CRW) Coral Bleaching Thermal Stress Outlook indicates that there is a high potential for coral bleaching in the Caribbean in 2010. The 2009-2010 El Niño ended in May 2010. However, the Caribbean usually experiences elevated temperature during the year following an El Niño event. Since the beginning of 2010, sea surface temperatures (SSTs) in most of the Caribbean region and tropical Atlantic Ocean have been observed more than 1ºC above the normal (see the SST anomaly figure above), based on Coral Reef Watch's climatology. This pattern is similar to, but has persisted much longer than, what occurred during the same time period in 2005. In 2005, a record breaking mass coral bleaching event in the Caribbean along with the most active hurricane season on record in the Atlantic Ocean followed such a pre-bleaching season SST anomaly pattern. The high SST anomaly in the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Keys began in mid-May after a dramatic increase in SST in early May (near 2ºC increase over several days at some locations) after an extreme cold outbreak earlier this year in the eastern Gulf of Mexico and Florida area. This preheating increases the likelihood that temperatures will exceed bleaching thresholds during the coming season. The pattern and intensity of early-season SST anomalies is similar to what was seen in 2005. The high potential for thermal stress above levels required to cause bleaching as seen in the CRW bleaching outlook system indicates a high potential for significant bleaching in the Caribbean region for the 2010 bleaching season. In 2005, the active hurricane season greatly reduced the coral bleaching thermal stress in the Florida Keys and Gulf of Mexico. However, the lack of tropical cyclones around the Lesser Antilles did not allow storms to relieve much the thermal stress in the epicenter of the 2005 mass bleaching event.

Low level bleaching thermal stress has already been present in the Caribbean region. The stress started to appear at the beginning of May at the eastern end of the Caribbean. It now covers most of the southern Caribbean region. In the Caribbean, bleaching-level thermal stress usually does not appear across such a wide area this early in the year. The year of 2005 was an exception and showed the similar thermal stress pattern. Given that the record breaking mass coral bleaching event occurred in 2005, the development of this year's thermal stress in the Caribbean needs to be monitored closely.

Climate Change Is Beginning to Disrupt Agriculture

Climate variability has already affected rains, droughts and temperatures in several parts of the United States, said Cynthia Rosenzweig, a senior research scientist with NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies. "We are already seeing climate change." "We are seeing the expansion of drying," said Rosenzweig, as she brought up a slide showing precipitation measurements across the United States. The measurements, comparing values from 1958 through 2008, showed significant reductions in rainfall across large portions of the Northwest and Southeast. Idaho, Washington, Montana, Georgia and Florida had some of the most drastic changes in rainfall on the map. However, the opposite is not good either, she said, adding that increased soil moisture in some areas could potentially harbor insects and other pests. And, in general, "crops do not like to have their feet wet." Aside from concerns about rainfall, local temperature is also extremely important for crop performance. The reproductive development in many important grains is a process sensitive to temperature, said Paul Gepts, a professor of agronomy at the University of California, Davis. Some plants need cold winters One of the potential side effects of climate change is a trend toward milder winters in some regions. Vital plants, Gepts said, require a cold winter in order to properly develop their seeds for the next season. Rosenzweig agreed. Heat waves, at odd times of the year, affect the proper development of proteins within corn kernels, she said. "It is like scrambling eggs." Gepts also presented a number of well-known strategies for mitigating some of the possible economic effects of climate change on agriculture. Aside from breeding plants to be more drought-, heat- and pest-resistant, he also suggested varying the types of crops maintained on a particular site on the basis of environmental suitability.

undra fire burned 1,000 square miles of an area near Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, three years ago that showed no prior evidence of burning going back thousands of years. Inuits, indigenous people of the Arctic, "never had a word in their language for thunderstorms," said Bob Corell, of the Arlington, Va.-based Global Environment & Technology Foundation. "And a thunderstorm was most likely to blame for that fire."

For the first time in more than 65 years, dengue has returned the continental United States, according to an advisory the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued in late May.

The upsurge is not unexpected. Experts say more than half the world's population will be at risk by 2085 because of greater urbanization, global travel and climate change.

The risk is set to increase. A report in the medical journal Lancet, which looked at the impact of climate change on the global distribution of dengue fever, found that nearly 5 billion to 6 billion people will be living in land suitable for transmission by 2085.