Binghamton University students and faculty may want to keep their rain boots and umbrellas handy this semester as an increase in severe downpours is projected in the area due to conditions caused by global warming, according to a recent report.

A report released this month by Environment America, a federation of environmental advocacy organizations, says that global warming has caused an increase in the intensity of precipitation patterns across the United States.

Global warming affects weather patterns by ‘increasing the temperature of the land and the oceans’ and ‘enabling the atmosphere to hold more water vapor,’ the report states.

Although most at BU may believe otherwise, the winters in Binghamton have gotten milder over the last 50 years, according to meteorologist Dave Nicosia of the Binghamton Weather Forecast Office.

‘Global warming affects precipitation patterns,’ Nicosia says. ‘Some parts of the world see more rain, some see less.’

Binghamton is an area that has received more.

Based on the average inches of rainfall from 1980 to the present compared to those from 1951 to 1990, the Northeast has seen an increase in precipitation. Over the past 20 years, Binghamton has gained approximately 4 inches of rain per year, going from an annual average of 36.97 inches from 1951 through 1980 to 39.17 inches from 1980 to the present.

This annual increase in rainfall has caused multiple floods in our area, which have been seen most recently in January and June of 2006, which was Binghamton’s wettest year to date with an average rainfall of 49.8 inches, according to the data of the Binghamton Weather Forecast Office, which holds records dating back to its opening in 1951.

While precipitation levels have increased, the temperature itself shows little to no change over the past 20 years. Winters are still cold enough for snow, and much wetter, leading to an increase in snowfall.

‘Prior to 1990 the average snowfall was 82.6 inches, while from 1990 to present it went up to an average of 91.9 inches,’ Nicosia said.

While snowfall is greater, the average days with 1 inch or more of snow on the ground went from 67 prior to 1990, to 60 days from 1990 to present, ‘a loss of one week of snow cover in the wintertime,’ Nicosia explains.

Across campus, students are looking for ways to prevent global warming and raise awareness about ways to protect the planet. The Student Environmental Awareness Club (SEAC) shows environmental movies, such as ‘An Inconvenient Truth,’ and hands out fliers to raise awareness and let students know what they can do to help the environment.

‘We started going to dining halls and have tables set up. One topic we discuss is global warming,’ says Stephanie Plude, SEAC president.

College campuses across America are also taking steps to affect environmental change by joining the American College & University President’s Climate Commitment.

The commitment, which was signed by BU President Lois DeFleur, states that ‘colleges and universities must exercise leadership in their communities and throughout society by modeling ways to minimize global warming emissions.’

The commitment also provides a list of steps each college and university should take in order to achieve climate neutrality.