CT Among Fastest-Warming States Due To Climate Change: Report

An average temperature increase of 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit might not seem like much, but according to a new report from The Washington Post, such a rise in average temperature over the course of a century can have devastating implications. And Connecticut has been identified as one of the states that is on the cusp of reaching that milestone.

The folks at The Washington Post used more than a century of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration temperature data to examine more than 3,100 counties in the United States.

Seventy-one counties have seen the average temperatures increase 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit, according to the publication. That's the threshold at which experts warn global catastrophic effects such as the elimination of most coral reefs and enormous sea level rise.

In Connecticut, Fairfield County's average temperature rose 3.5 degrees from 1895 to 2018, while Hartford County's average temps rose 3.0 degrees, according to the publication. The average temperature in New Haven County rose 3.2 degrees, and New London County's jumped 3.6 degrees.

The average temperature increases in the other counties in Connecticut:

• Litchfield County - 3.1 degrees
• Middlesex County - 3.3 degrees
• Tolland County - 2.9 degrees
• Windham County - 3.1 degrees

As a whole, Connecticut's average temperature rose 3.2 degrees Fahrenheit during the period.

Already more than one in 10 Americans are living in rapidly heating regions, including Los Angeles, New York City and much of the Northeast, according to the Post. Next door neighbor Rhode Island is the first state in the continental United States to eclipse the 3.6-degree Fahrenheit increase.

The majority of the "hot spots" are on the coast lines. With the exception of Minnesota and Michigan, the Midwest hasn't risen in temperature nearly at the same rates as the Northeast and West Coast.

"The only part of the United States that has not warmed significantly since the late 1800s is the South, especially Mississippi and Alabama, where data in some cases shows modest cooling," The Washington Post reports.

To view the entire report from The Washington Post, click here.

— Gus Saltonstall contributed to this report.