Thanksgiving Warming & Food Waste

Download high-resolution file

The cool days of late November that come with Thanksgiving will turn warmer on average in the coming decades with climate change. On our current emissions path, where fossil fuels are the dominant energy source, average high temperatures during the week of Thanksgiving are projected to climb 5-10°F in most of our Climate Matters markets by the end of the century.

Methodology: Historical weather station maximum temperature data was averaged over November 22-28 for the period 1996-2015 to obtain the 2016 baseline. The mean high temperature projections for 2050 and 2100 were derived from a suite of 28 climate models (CMIP5 / Oak Ridge National Laboratory) under IPCC emissions scenario RCP8.5, averaged over November 22-28 for 2030-2049 and 2080-2099, respectively.