Abstract
A voluntary group of about 80 scientists from 12 countries has reviewed and assessed the published literature on climate change in the Baltic Sea region; here, the term
„climate change“ refers to all changes of weather statistics, in the atmosphere, Baltic Sea and cryosphere, whether they are related to human action or due to natural variability. After two years of work, which includes external and internal review, a conclusion has been arrived at - in almost all aspects, this conclusion represents a common assessment; only in minor aspects
disensus was found and documented. The overall assessment will be published in a book later this year; the conclusions of the assessment have been accepted by HELCOM as a suitable analysis of the state of knowledge. In this short article, the key findings are summarized and
illustrated with a few key diagrams on past developments and expected future developments.
Also the background of the BACC initiative is described.
