Section O: Climate Change

Climate change must be addressed during the planning process to help shape the development of projects and programs to mitigate and adapt to the impacts of climate change. Climate change is a result of increased levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere as a result of natural processes and human activity. This section explains the relationship between greenhouse gases and climate change, describes climate change trends, provides a regional climate change vulnerability assessment, and examines the ways in which climate change may impact the Tule River Basin IRWMP area. The climate change impacts that are related to water and are most likely to occur within the IRWMP region include: