At a Glance

Temperatures have risen 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit in the parks between 1895 and 2010, according to the study.That is twice the rate of anywhere else in the country.Most of the national parksare located in extremeenvironments where warming has generally been greater,the study notes.

The lands set aside by our leaders to ensure that the most pristine and coveted spots in the United States are protected have become the most impacted by global warming, a new study says.

Temperatures have risen 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit in the 417 national parks between 1895 and 2010, twice the rate of anywhere else in the country,according to the study by the University of California Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

Most of the national parksare located in extremeenvironments where warming has generally been greater,the study notes.

Many of the parks are also located at high elevations, where the atmosphere is thinner, and in the Arctic, where "the reflective snow cover has melted and more heat is being absorbed," according to the press release.

In addition to rising temperatures, rainfall has declined in all parks, according to the study.

The researchers came to their conclusions based on data collected at weather stations scattered throughout the U.S., dating back to 1895. The researchers used this data to create maps of the average annual temperature and rainfall totals at points that are marked at about 800-meter-increments over much of the United States.

Using data from weather stations scattered throughout the U.S., climate researchers have created maps of the average annual temperature and rainfall totals at points approximately 800 meters apart over much of the United States. In this study, the team used these maps to calculate historical temperature and rainfall trends within the parks and over the U.S. as a whole

(Patrick Gonzalez)

In California alone, 23 out of the state's 27 park sites have noted an increase in temperatures since 1950, sometimes far more than 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit average noted in the study.

Yearly rainfall totals decreased over 12 percent innational parklands, whichcompares to 3 percent detected in the rest of the land in the United States.

National parks in Alaska incurred the most dramatic increases in temperature, while rainfall decreased most in Hawaii.

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The researchers say that at the current rate of emissions, temperatures in the most exposed national parks could soar by as much as 9 degrees Celsius or 16 degrees Fahrenheit by 2100.

“Human-caused climate change is already increasing the area burned by wildfires across the western U.S., melting glaciers in Glacier Bay National Park and shifting vegetation to higher elevations in Yosemite National Park,” said lead author of the study, Patrick Gonzalez, an associate adjunct professor in the Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management at UC Berkeley.

Despite the grim outlook, Gonzalez noted that there was some good news:"If we reduce our emissions from cars, power plants, deforestation, and other human activities and meet the Paris Agreement goal, we can keep the temperature increase in national parks to one-third of what it would be without any emissions reductions."

John Williams, a professor of geography at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, gave a grim prediction of what lies ahead for our national parks if emissions are not curtailed.

“At this point, it is likely that the glaciers in Glacier National park will ultimately disappear, and what is Glacier National park if it doesn’t have glaciers anymore?" Williams said. "So I think this adds weight to the importance of reducing our future levels of climate change and also extends the National Park Service mission to both adapt to these changes and educate all of us about these changes.”