On Tuesday, March 17, at noon, Maine State Climatologist Sean Birkel will talk about the vast changes in Maine’s climate during the 21st century. His talk, sponsored by the Belfast Garden Club, is free and open to the public, and will be held in the Abbott Room of Belfast Free Library.

Since the late 1800s, Maine’s climate has warmed more than 3.5 °F and total annual precipitation has increased, according to a Garden Club news release. The past two decades have been marked by an increase in extremes such as heavy rainfall and impactful drought. In this presentation, Birkel will explore these changes, how they tie into milder winters and a longer growing season, and what is expected in future decades. 

For perspective and reflection, the presentation will end with photographs and stories of a bygone era when, during some of the coldest winters of the 19th and early 20th centuries, Penobscot Bay would freeze as far south as Rockland, an event difficult to imagine today.

Dr. Sean Birkel is an assistant professor at the University of Maine with a joint appointment to the Climate Change Institute and Cooperative Extension. As the Maine State Climatologist, he provides climate and weather information to Maine stakeholders to facilitate decision-making and planning. Birkel serves on the Scientific and Technical Subcommittee of the Maine Climate Council.

A Zoom link to the program is available by going to https://us06web.zoom.us/meeting/register/jiokI8wDRV2olY_GIH7pIA