While climate change is a hot button topic, the ways it is present and visible in New England may not be as well-known to the general public.

Salem State Professor Stephen Young gave a presentation at the Universalist Unitarian Church in Swampscott on Monday evening, informing attendees about how the region is, and will be affected. The event was held in collaboration with the Swampscott Conservancy, a nonprofit dedicated to protecting and enhancing the town’s natural resources. After the presentation, which featured many graphs and photos, Young answered questions from the audience.

Young, who teaches geography and sustainability development, explained that the 20-inch snowstorms that hit Massachusetts this winter were not just a rarity in the early 20th century. They never happened at all between 1900 and 1942.

Some may actually think that these large storms may be a good sign when it comes to climate change.

According to Young, despite single storms enhancing in intensity, snow coverage of New England’s land in general is decreasing. This is causing the surface to take in more energy from the sun, making the atmosphere warmer.

“We are one of the fastest warming regions outside of the Arctic,” said Young. “Most of that warming has happened in the last 40 years.”

Climate change has led to increased moisture in Earth’s atmosphere. Because a warmer atmosphere can hold more moisture, some areas may actually experience less precipitation at times. For example, in the summer of 2024, a lack of rainfall led to severe drought conditions in New Hampshire, Vermont, and Maine, Young explained.

A normal winter day in Boston is about 9 degrees warmer now than it was a century ago. Almost every part of New England has warmed up by at least 2 degrees on average since 2000. This past winter – December through February – was the second warmest in the continental United States since 1880, Young explained.

Most of global warming has been taking place in Earth’s oceans, which has been affecting New England coastal towns.

“The water bodies around New England are some of the fastest warming on Earth,” said Young. “The gulfstream is starting to slow down a little bit as it goes across the Eastern seaboard…Some of that warm water isn’t being pulled into the Atlantic Ocean.”

Young said that the United States and other countries have the financial means, expertise, and resources needed to slow global warming, but progress will ultimately depend on political will.

“I worry that we’re missing the big picture,” said Young. “We are not going back. Some people think it’s a cycle. It’s not.”