Virginia is creating a new office focused on studying the impacts of climate change, and it will be housed at George Mason University.
Mason was authorized to host the Virginia State Climate Office by a provision in the state budget that took effect on July 1 after last-minute negotiations between Gov. Abigail Spanberger and the General Assembly. The governor ultimately signed the two-year spending plan into law on June 29 — just before the end of the fiscal year.
The new climate office will be anchored at Mason’s Virginia Climate Center, which is part of the College of Science on the university’s Fairfax campus (4400 University Drive) but works with local officials, businesses and community leaders across the state.
“From extreme heat and drought to flooding and sea-level rise, Virginia communities are already navigating climate-related challenges,” the college said when announcing the new office on Wednesday (July 7). “College of Science researchers are helping local leaders better understand those risks and make informed decisions.”
Launched in 2023, the Virginia Climate Center was initially funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) with approximately $2 million secured by the late Rep. Gerry Connolly. Since then, GMU has amassed one of the largest faculties dedicated to climate research in the U.S., the university said in a press release.
VCC Director James Kinter, a professor of climate dynamics who also leads Mason’s Center for Ocean-Land-Atmosphere Studies, says the three years that the climate center has spent building up its scientific capabilities and community partnerships makes it “the ideal home” for the State Climate Office.
“Every Virginian deserves access to reliable, localized climate information, whether they’re a farmer on the Eastern Shore, an emergency manager in Southwest Virginia, or a family deciding where to buy a home,” Kinter said. “The State Climate Office makes that possible.”
According to the state budget, the office will be tasked with collecting data, conducting analyses and providing expertise “about Virginia’s weather and climate related impacts, risks and risk management options to state and local government agencies, businesses, and communities” in the Commonwealth.
It will also serve as a liaison to “national meteorological, climatological and hydrological associations to better leverage federal agency partnerships and interstate collaboration to address real-time weather and climate challenges.”
The need for a statewide office dedicated to climate research was identified by the inaugural Virginia Climate Assessment released last November by the VCC. Among other concerns, the report found that Virginia is experiencing more extreme temperature changes, more frequent and intense precipitation as well as more frequent droughts, and rising sea levels that could affect both coastal and inland communities.
In Northern Virginia, droughts that disrupt the availability of water in the Potomac River “could reduce the state’s economic output by more than $4.5 billion just one month,” the report said.
The possibility of water supply challenges has taken on new urgency this year amid an ongoing drought and the collapse of the Potomac Interceptor in January, prompting Fairfax Water and other utilities to launch a study to identify potential alternative sources.
Just in the past month, Fairfax County has also endured a heat wave that canceled some Fourth of July events and a thunderstorm that displaced multiple families in the Burke area due to a “microburst” with tornado-like impacts.
Despite the mounting evidence of climate change, Virginia was one of only two states in the country without a working state climate office — until now, according to Del. David Reid (D-28), who represents part of Loudoun County and sponsored the budget amendment establishing the office at Mason.
“That gap left localities, farmers, and businesses without a central, no-cost source of climate information that most other states take for granted,” Reid said in the press release. “Hosting this office at George Mason puts proven scientists to work for every corner of the commonwealth, and we are committed to collaborating to ensure improved strategic planning, data collection and analysis, and avoided losses.”
The amendment was championed in the state Senate by Stella Pekarsky (D-36), an alumna of GMU who represents the Centreville, Chantilly and Clifton areas of Fairfax County.
“The office will ensure that Virginia has a seat at the national table to collaborate with groups like American Association of State Climatologists and play a vital role working with localities to ensure a brighter future for the next generation of families across the commonwealth and the nation,” Pekarsky said.
More on the climate office and Virginia Climate Center’s work from Mason:
VCC already partners with localities across the commonwealth, and the State Climate Office will extend that reach. Current projects include flood modeling for the City of Fairfax, urban flood resilience work in Arlington County, nature-based flood protection in Belle Haven on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, climate planning in the West Piedmont region, and a Northern Virginia heat data collection campaign launching this summer. George Mason student engineers are also supporting flood hazard mitigation projects, gaining hands-on experience while serving Virginia communities.
“Weather patterns impact key sectors of the Virginia economy,” said Terry Clower, director of the Center for Regional Analysis at George Mason’s Schar School of Policy and Government. “Consistent, dependable, and localized weather data will give Virginia farmers, businesses, and government entities the ability to better compete and succeed.”
The university’s strength in climate resilience is part of George Mason’s Grand Challenge Initiative, which draws on expertise across the university, including the Institute for a Sustainable Earth; the College of Science’s Department of Atmospheric, Oceanic, and Earth Sciences; the Center for Climate Change Communication in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences; and the Schar School’s Center for Regional Analysis.
“Building a climate-resilient society is one of six research priorities in George Mason’s Grand Challenge Initiative, and it’s one where our faculty are collaborating across colleges to deliver solutions communities can actually use,” said Andre Marshall, vice president for research, innovation, and economic impact. “The State Climate Office turns that research strength into a public service for all Virginians. This is what a public R1 university is for.”
