Below-zero days could plummet in Midwest, hurting economy

Climate change could dramatically harm the Midwest economy in the coming decades, with warmer temperatures damaging crop yields and threatening winter sports. 

The study from Risky Business — a group led by former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, former U.S. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and billionaire Tom Steyer — found rising temperatures across the U.S. are on track to hammer business productivity across the Midwest.

{mosads}”While this is an area accustomed to dramatic weather events, the extremes that are likely to come with climate change are on an entirely different scale for the region’s businesses, communities, and overall economic health,” the report states.

By the end of the century, only two upper Midwest states, Minnesota and Wisconsin, are projected to have average winter temperatures.

By 2050, the average Midwesterner will likely see 16-37 fewer days below freezing each year. 

Those warming temperatures mean that within the next five to 25 years, farmers in states like Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and Missouri could see an average commodity crop loss of 18 percent to 24 percent each year. 

If greenhouse gas emissions are not cut, the entire Midwest could see losses for corn and wheat of 11 percent to 69 percent.

Paulson, who served under President George W. Bush, urged business leaders, cities, and investors to focus on the potential risks before the clock runs out.

“Climate change poses a tremendous threat to the key sectors of the Midwest economy, particularly manufacturing and agriculture. As a lifelong Midwesterner, I’m gravely concerned that our ‘business as usual’ path is dangerous, unsustainable and threatens our way of life,” Paulson said.