National Climate Assessments synthesize scientific information and evaluate the state of the science on climate change to inform a broad audience of decision-makers across the country. The NCA is mandated by the Global Change Research Act of 1990 and is produced approximately every four years. The 5th National Climate Assessment (NCA5) was released in November 2023 and builds upon the work of the four previous assessments. This report was produced by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, which comprises 15 Federal member agencies. NCA5 was written by a diverse team of more than 500 authors and went through multiple rounds of extensive agency review, public comment, and an external peer review conducted by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine.
NCA5 is a technical scientific assessment of climate change-related risks, impacts, and responses in the United States. The assessment includes 32 chapters on physical science, national-level sectors (e.g., water, energy, agriculture, infrastructure, etc.), regional impacts, and responses (mitigation and adaptation). Select chapters are now available for download on SCIPP’s site, including Ch. 2 Climate Trends, Ch. 22: Southeast (includes Arkansas and Louisiana), and Ch. 26: Southern Great Plains (includes Oklahoma and Texas). The full report can be accessed and downloaded from the NOAA Archives link here.