In the News: Vermette Chimes In on Buffalo’s Status as Climate Change Haven

Buffalo State professor of geography Stephen Vermette was quoted in the December 5 story "Will Buffalo Become a Climate Change Haven?" in the online publication CityLab about Buffalo becoming known as a haven from climate change and what the consequences of that designation might be.

The article mentioned Vermette’s desire in 2016 to demonstrate how climate change has had an adverse effect on Western New York, so as to get residents to fight the carbon crisis. What he found, however, was that climate change has left the Buffalo area virtually unscathed compared with many areas of the country that are experiencing extreme wildfires, hurricanes, and flooding.

The article noted that Vermette found no evidence that rainfall has grown more severe or that heat waves have grown more frequent. He said the breeze off of Lake Erie acts like a natural air conditioner, helping to keep the city cool.