The US region called New England is widely known for its colonial history, maple syrup and frigid, snow-bound winters. Many of these norms are in the process of being upended, however, by a rapidly altering climate, with new research finding the area is heating up faster than almost anywhere else on Earth.
The breakneck speed of New England’s transformation makes it the fastest-heating area of the US, bar the Alaskan Arctic, and the pace of its temperature rise has apparently increased in the past five years, according to the study.
“The temperature is not only increasing, it’s accelerating,” said Stephen Young, a climate researcher at Salem State University, who conducted the study, published in the Climate journal, with his son Joshua Young.
“It’s really sped up in recent years, which surprised me. Our climate is moving in a new direction, after being relatively stable in the past 10,000 years.
“Along with the Arctic and parts of Europe and China, the north-east US is one of the fastest-warming regions in the world. New England is now heading towards being like the south-eastern US.”
For the study, the Youngs analyzed three datasets on day and night temperatures, as well as snow cover on the ground, that have helped shape New England – the north-eastern region that encompasses Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut – since 1900.
They found that New England has heated up by 2.5C (4.5F) on average from 1900 to 2024. This is far in excess of the global average, with the world warming by around 1.3C in this time due to the release of heat-trapping gases from the burning of fossil fuels. “That is very fast, which is worrying,” said Young.
The rise in temperatures is eroding the severe cold that New England winters are known for. Minimum temperatures and night-time temperatures are rising faster than maximum and daytime temperatures, while the winters are heating up at twice the rate of other seasons.
This is leading to a dwindling of snowy conditions in New England. The region has had 18% fewer days where snow is lying on the ground, on average, since 2000, according to the study, with a notable retreat of snow cover in fall and spring seasons. This is pronounced in the southern portion of New England, where snow cover is receding faster than almost any other snowy area in the world.
A major reason for this unusual buildup of heat may be changes to the Atlantic Ocean that buffets the New England coastline. The oceans are absorbing more than 90% of the excess heat trapped by greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere, with recent years seeing record-breaking ocean temperatures.
In the north Atlantic, near New England, an increase in cold, fresh water flowing from Greenland’s melting glaciers is slowing down the Gulf Stream, an oceanic conveyer belt of warm, salty water that flows northwards. This warmer water is being pushed into the Gulf of Maine, concentrating heat on New England’s coastline that is then pushed inland by prevailing winds.
“The excess heat from climate change is being stored in the oceans like a huge battery,” said Young. “This is now being released into the atmosphere and New England is a recipient of that energy.”
Once seen as a sort of mild climate haven, New England has suffered severe weather shocks in recent years, including enormous flooding and prolonged drought.
The rising heat, meanwhile, poses a threat to cherished aspects of New England life, such as the production of maple syrup and winter sports – an ice hockey tournament held on Vermont and New Hampshire lakes has had to be canceled or moved several times in recent years due to a lack of ice, while ski resorts have struggled due to a lack of snow.
“I live just north of Boston and when I moved here in the 1990s I used to skate on the ponds all the time. I haven’t done that in a while,” said Young. “That sort of thing has pretty much disappeared from much of southern New England.”
