Gothamist
A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.
Gothamist
Listen Live
News
Alarming Interactive Map Shows How Climate Change Could Make NYC Feel More Like Arkansas Soon Enough
By
Claire Lampen
Published Feb 13, 2019
Modified Feb 13, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
Never miss a story
Email address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .
Danny Johnston/AP/Shutterstock
By
Claire Lampen
Published Feb 13, 2019
Modified Feb 13, 2019
Share
FacebookTwitterRedditEmail
We rely on your support to make local news available to all
Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
We come at you fairly frequently with dire predictions about the mayhem that will unfold if atmospheric warming continues at its current rate—hell, will probably unfold regardless of whether or not we drastically slash our carbon emissions right this very moment, so long have we neglected the problem. Expert after expert has repeatedly clarified that this willful ignorance likely means manifold destruction: Devastating flooding that drives island and coastal populations inland, creating mass overcrowding; horribly hot, suffocating heat; drought and, thanks to untenable growing conditions, famine; fires; the rapid death of coral reefs and many other forms of wildlife; disease.
All of this, climate reports have emphasized, is likely to begin much sooner than previously expected, within the next 10 years in fact. But if you require a more visceral visual in order to really wrap your brain tentacles around the staggering scale of looming change, consider this scary map. Click on your city, and by way of comparison, the map reveals what the climate there will feel like in 2080.
New York City, according to the cartological oracle, will have taken on a climate comparable to Jonesboro, Arkansas, in 2080. For reference, the high there today is 54 degrees, while here in NYC, the high is 33 degrees and we've enjoyed a snow-ice storm.
U.S. Climate Data suggests that this might mean our city becomes more temperate all year round: The annual average temp for Jonesboro clocks in at a mild 59 degrees, while the average low comes in at a paltry 48. The average high hovers at 70 degrees, which actually sounds like it would a vast improvement over the typical NYC summer, in which scalding air combined with leaden humidity make you feel as though you live inside the molten center of a lava cake. But currently, our annual average temp is 55 degrees, with a low of 48 and a high of 62.
And then, keep in mind that the eviscerating heat waves will only become more frequent in coming years.
According to NBC 4 New York, the map's creator—University of Maryland Center for Environmental Studies ecology professor Matt Fitzpatrick—chose 540 different cities where he could examine the effects of 12 different environmental variables—things like minimum and maximum temperature, along with seasonal precipitation levels—under two separate climate change scenarios: One in which we plow ahead on our current path to destruction, and another in which our emissions peak in the middle of the century, but decline thereafter. Factoring this data together with the results of 27 different computerized climate models, Fitzpatrick matched each city with its most similar climatic counterpart.
"The children alive today, like my daughter who is 12, they're going to see a dramatic transformation of climate," Fitzpatrick told NBC 4. "It's already underway."
If you're interested in seeing the world as the children one day will, the map is available here for your viewing horror.
Tagged
arkansas
climate change
climate report
jonesboro
nyc
Claire Lampen
Read more
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
MORE news
Man who pushed his baby and her mother from a Bronx balcony arraigned from psych ward
Angel Carrasco, who shoved his infant daughter and her mother from a 15th floor balcony, appeared virtually in Bronx criminal court.
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Published Oct 14, 2026 at 2:22 p.m. ET
NYC looks to grow involvement in Open Streets as applications open for 2027
The Mamdani administration bolstered funding this year and is asking applicants to suggest infrastructure upgrades.
By
Catalina Gonella
News
NYC looks to grow involvement in Open Streets as applications open for 2027
The Mamdani administration bolstered funding this year and is asking applicants to suggest infrastructure upgrades.
By
Catalina Gonella
New Yorkers are paying $300 million for natural gas they don't even use
By
Rosemary Misdary
Early Addition: Eric Adams did not convince a Wisconsin town to build a data center
By
James Ramsay
Hit-and-run driver arrested trying to flee to Uzbekistan after deadly crash, NYPD says
By
Brittany Kriegstein
Never miss a story
Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.
Sign upEmail address
By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .