Climate Change at Rock Creek Park

On the afternoon of August 28, 2018, temperatures in Washington, DC were rising. People in the northeast neighborhoods of the city watched their thermometers climb to a high of 102°F as the day stretched on.¹ This was unusual: August highs in DC are usually somewhere between 85 and 90°F.² When temperatures reach the triple digits, unrelenting sunlight radiates off of city surfaces. Being outside is unpleasant, and for people sensitive to high temperatures, downright dangerous.

But just miles away, the urban oasis of Rock Creek Park reached its peak temperature of only 85°F.¹ The park’s forests countered the worst of the heat, keeping conditions cooler and safer for people in the area.

As climate change intensifies, extreme heat waves become more common. Parks like Rock Creek provide a place of refuge. They help keep temperatures down in times of intense heat, while also storing carbon and providing a place to de-stress from a fast-paced life.

But Rock Creek Park isn’t immune to the effects of climate change. Rising temperatures and extreme weather, when combined with other pressures, make the park’s ecosystems weaker. If climate change continues unabated, Rock Creek Park might not be able to give people the same refuge in the future.

The story of climate change isn’t over, and the future is in our hands. If we take action now, we can help keep the park resilient for years to come. We have a responsibility to care for this place—and if we work hard, we can make a difference.

What’s causing these changes?

Climate change is caused by people’s greenhouse gas emissions. When we burn fossil fuels, like coal, oil, or natural gas, we release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Those gases stay in the air and act like a blanket that traps heat. The more greenhouse gases we release, the thicker that blanket gets, and the planet overheats—causing rising temperatures and abnormal weather patterns around the world.

Climate change in DC

Washington, DC is already feeling the impacts of climate change. Temperatures are rising, and weather is becoming more extreme. And in the city, people are uniquely exposed to the pressures that climate change brings.

It’s getting hotter

• Average temperatures in D.C. are already about 3.4°F warmer in the 2020s than they were in the 1970s.³ That might not sound like a big increase, but it’s important to keep in mind the difference between climate and weather. You can think of it like your body—the difference between feeling fine and having a fever is only a few degrees!
• When average temperatures rise, heat waves get hotter, and extreme heat season extends farther into the spring and fall.⁴
• Heat is especially intense in urban environments. Areas that have less green space, and fewer trees, experience higher temperatures. That exposes everyone in the city to higher heat than people who live in more rural places.
• Heat isn’t distributed evenly across the city. A legacy of racial redlining affects the city today. The distribution of places in the city with less green space tends to be linked to factors like income and race, with lower income people and people of color more likely to be exposed to extreme heat.
• In the future, temperatures will keep rising—but exactly how much depends on us. By 2100, with high carbon emissions, average temperatures could be as much as 8.9°F warmer than they were before 2000. But with lower carbon emissions, temperatures wouldn’t rise as much—we can limit the increase to 5.4°F or less, depending on how much we reduce our carbon footprint!⁵ That’s still a big increase, but it makes a difference.

Weather is getting more extreme

• Because of climate change, we see more extreme weather events. These are things like tornadoes, nor’easters, blizzards, and floods.⁴ Storms like these threaten people’s lives and livelihoods. They can hurt people, destroy infrastructure, and take down power grids.
• DC is already getting more rain and snow than it used to. Total precipitation in DC has been above average since 1995.⁴
• And that precipitation is falling in shorter periods of time. Because climate change makes weather more extreme, there are more storms that drop a lot of rain and snow in a short period of time—where before, it might have fallen more gradually.⁶ That makes a difference—a few days of gentle rain doesn’t feel the same as if it all fell in 10 minutes!
• In the future, there will likely be even more precipitation, and more extreme weather. Scientists predict that these trends will continue.⁴ More rain, and bigger storms, could lead to flooding and erosion.

As climate change continues to reshape the world as we know it, the pressures of life in DC will keep getting more intense.

An urban oasis

Rock Creek Park provides a place of refuge from climate change and city life.

Keeping it cool

The park’s forest absorbs heat. On hot days, temperatures in the park can be much cooler than temperatures in the rest of the city—at times, 17°F cooler!

The colors on this map show the temperatures in different areas of the city at 3pm on August 28, 2018.¹ Rock Creek Park is particularly blue and cool, and so are areas west of DC along the Potomac River. Places with less green space, and more asphalt, tend to be warmer. And this wasn’t just true on that day in 2018. It represents a broader trend: when the city heats up, the park stays cool.

Keeping you healthy

Spending time in the park is good for your health—especially as climate change makes health challenges worse! Extreme conditions from climate change can make diseases worse, cause chronic illness, injure people, or introduce new diseases altogether.⁷

But in the face of this, the park is a place of refuge. The trees filter air, making the air quality better than many other parts of the city. Recreating outdoors keeps people active, which can help them fight disease. And studies show that spending time in nature has mental health benefits, too.⁸ As climate change intensifies, more and more people experience climate anxiety or other mental health impacts of climate change. Spaces where people can connect with nature and get away from fast-paced city life are crucial.

Storing carbon

Trees, and other plants, store carbon. When they do, they keep that carbon out of the atmosphere, which prevents it from contributing to climate change. Just by living and growing, trees and forests help us fight climate change.

Rock Creek Park is a carbon storage superstar! Scientists estimate that the plants in the park store 100,000 tons of carbon. In order to emit that much carbon dioxide, you’d have to drive a gas-powered car to the sun and back—and then some.⁹ That’s a lot of carbon that the park keeps out of the atmosphere. It makes a big difference in our fight against climate change!

Threats to the park

But just like the rest of the city, the park is vulnerable to climate change. Climate change weakens the park’s ecosystems and make it more vulnerable to damage. When the ecosystem is weaker, the park can’t absorb the impacts of climate change as well as it could before.

Climate change’s impacts erode away the health of the forest. If things continue this way, future generations won’t be able to enjoy the same Rock Creek Park that we do today.

What we’re doing

Keeping the forest strong

As climate change intensifies, resilience is the name of the game. The ecosystems at Rock Creek Park will have to withstand extreme conditions and new pressures. In order to survive, they’ll have to be as healthy and strong as possible—and that’s where we come in.

We’ve been working on keeping the ecosystem strong by following the guidance of our Forest Resiliency Plan. The plan lays out how we can measure the health of the forest and protect it from changing climate conditions.

How you can help

Everyone has a role to play in our response to climate change. Think about what you like to do, or what resources you have. Is there a connection between those things and climate action?

To fight climate change, we all need to reduce our carbon footprints. How can you do that in your own life? And how can you make it easier for others to do it, too?

Here are some ideas of ways you can make a difference:

• Talk about it. Tell your friends and family about climate change and why you care!
• Reduce your carbon footprint, and encourage people around you to try it too
• Be an active citizen. Share your thoughts about climate change with your government representatives.
• Build sustainability into your community. Think about the organizations you’re in—your place of work, school, or worship. How can those groups take action toward reducing the use of fossil fuels? How can you get involved in making that happen?
• Be a steward of the park. Keep the park clean and follow guidance during your visit. When you follow rules, you’re doing your part to keep the ecosystem healthy.
• Volunteer. Park staff are working to protect and preserve ecosystems as climate conditions change. Help us take care of this special place by volunteering!