About the Science Behind the Climate Studies

At UCLA's Institute of the Environment and Sustainability (IoES), Dr. Alex Hall has employed an innovative technique for applying global climate models to L.A. and the surrounding region to provide detailed projections of climate change. This research has brought climate projections down to the local level -- identifying which neighborhoods will be most impacted by increasing temperatures, a loss of snowfall to many of our region's mountains, and other effects of climate change. The first report was released in June 2012 as part of the Climate Change in the Los Angeles Region project initiated by Climate Resolve, the Los Angeles Regional Collaborative for Climate Action & Sustainability (LARC), and the City of Los Angeles.

The first report from the project, on mid-century temperature changes, was released in June 2012. The second, focusing on impacts to regional snowfall, was released in June 2013, and the third, on precipitation, was released in December 2014. The UCLA research team has also published its findings in a special issue of Journal of Climate dedicated to the science of regional climate change.

An in-depth discussion of the methodology can be found in the scientific papers written about the study. For more on these papers and to request access,visit the UCLA study team's website.