National Park Service

Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument in southern Arizona.

Are America’s national parks bearing the brunt of climate change?

New research from the University of California – Berkeley and the University of Wisconsin, Madison suggests they are.

Scientists found over the past century, national parks saw their average temperatures rise two times higher than the rate of increase for the rest of the country. Rainfall also decreased more in national parks than elsewhere in the United States.

Patrick Gonzalez is a climate change scientist at UC Berkeley who worked on the paper. He explained why would national parks be affected differently and affected more than other parts of the country.