Bergen-Passaic Chapter Meeting

New Jersey’s Changing Climate, presented by Dr. Dave Robinson

Since 2010, New Jersey has experienced its wettest and warmest years in over a century of observations. Extreme weather/climate events, including Ida, Sandy, and Irene, along with a number of hot summers, suggest that something is happening to NJ’s climate regime. Natural variations alone cannot account for these NJ (and global) anomalies. Human influences on climate are significant, prompting discussion as to how society might mitigate or develop greater resiliency to increasing climate change. This presentation will explore the physical dimensions of the issue, both short and long term.

Dr. Dave Robinson is a Distinguished Professor of Geography at Rutgers University and New Jersey’s State Climatologist. As state climatologist, he works with a wide array of stakeholders who require climatological information and expertise to solve problems. He also directs the Rutgers NJ Weather Network, a constellation of 69 automated weather stations and co-leads the NJ chapter of the Community Collaborative Rain, Hail, and Snow Network. Globally, Dave conducts research on the role of snow cover in the climate system and as an indicator of climate change. Dave is past president of the American Association of State Climatologists and is a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society.