Study finds national parks are heating faster than the rest of the United States

(CNN) – National parks are important. They are home to irreplaceable ecosystems, cultural sites and extraordinary wildlife.

The study found that temperatures in the country's 417 protected areas increased by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit, twice as much as in the rest of the country. As temperatures and aridity increased, precipitation rates dropped considerably.

Why this is happening

Patrick Gonzalez, a climate change specialist at the University of California at Berkeley and one of the authors of the study, says that the reason that national parks are affected is usually due to their location. Many national parks are found in the Arctic, at high altitude or in dry weather in the southwestern United States.

High temperatures, according to the study, often occur because a large portion of national parks are at high altitudes, "where warming occurs faster due to a thinner atmosphere."

More than half of the country's parks – 63% – are in Alaska and have experienced the largest temperature increase.

"The permafrost is melting," Gonzalez told CNN. "The soil is frozen because of the cold climate for most of the year, so once you heat it, the soil melts." Gonzalez says that when the snow melts, the color of the earth becomes darker, the snow is gone.

"And we all know that darker colors absorb more sun and become warmer."

This not only jeopardizes glaciers, but also polar bears, which depend on sea ice.

The study found that precipitation also fell by 12% in the country's national parks, compared to only 3% in the United States as a whole.

What does it mean for parks

Between 1948 and 2000, the Muir Glacier, in Glacier Bay National Park, Alaska, lost more than 2,099 feet; Forests in Noatak National Park and Yosemite National Park have been cleared and relocated.

Large areas of forests are dying in Yellowstone National Park droughts and bark beetles, which have thrived due to climate change, are attacking trees.

And in areas like Yosemite National Park and Alaska's reserves, trees grow in grasslands and tundra.

Scientists say it could make things worse.

Yellowstone National Park – the first national park in the world – could see up to 10 times more areas burned in 2100, while Joshua Tree National Park could see its famous Joshua trees disappear.

Temperatures in the country's national parks could increase six times faster in the 21st century than in the 20th century. National parks in Alaska alone could see a temperature rise of up to 16 degrees Fahrenheit.

What can we do about it

There is a return, Gonzalez said. Increases in temperature can be attributed to climate change caused by humans.

"Carbon dioxide has reached its highest level in 800,000 years, well beyond the range of natural variation," said Gonzalez. In addition, the carbon that scientists have found in the atmosphere has a unique chemical signature, different from that of carbon from volcanoes or plants.

"We have quantified the carbon pollution of cars, power plants and deforestation, and we have found that human activities pump nine billion tonnes of carbon into the atmosphere each year, but forests and ocean waters do not. Absorb only five billion ".

According to the study, reducing greenhouse gas emissions could reduce expected temperature increases by at least half and possibly two-thirds.

Go without a car, he suggests.

"Walk, ride a bike, take public transportation," Gonzales said. "The reduction of carbon pollution of human origin can save the parks from the most extreme heat."