Climate Report: Texas-Style Summers in Illinois?

(Undated) -- Illinois could feel more like Texas in terms of summer heat if changes are not made to address the impacts of climate change, according to an Illinois expert. Donald Wuebbles is among the hundreds of climate scientists who contributed to the 2014 National Climate Assessment released on Tuesday. He says if the country continues to put more heat-trapping gases, like carbon dioxide, into the air, Illinois could eventually feel like the Lone Star State by the end of the century. The report lays out evidence that climate change is real and is human-caused, and that it results in extreme weather events, from heat waves to heavy precipitation. In the Midwest, it cites a 37-percent increase in very heavy rainfall events over the past 50 years.