Climate Change Impact on “Outdoor Days” Over the United States

Abstract

Abstract The scientific discourse on climate change throughout the US has primarily revolved around changes in mean climate and/or climate extremes. However, little is known about the impacts of climate change on mild weather conditions despite its significant relevance to quality of life. Here, we adopt the concept of “outdoor days” defined as those relatively pleasant days when most people may enjoy outdoor activities (Choi et al., 2024). We project how climate change reshapes seasonality of US outdoor days: relatively large drops in summer, late spring, and early fall; and a significant increase in winter. However, annual outdoor days are projected to change slightly, with notable exceptions. We project relatively large drops in southeast (−23%), south (−19%), and Ohio Valley (−19%), and a significant increase in northwest (14%) toward the end of the century. Our findings have implications for quality of life in different regions, and for nation‐wide travel and tourism.

Keywords

• outdoor days
• outdoor activities
• climate change impact
• global climate model
• regional climate change
• the United States