00:58 Climate Change is Threatening Great Lakes Climate change is taking a toll on the Great Lakes and could cause a host of problems, including toxic algae blooms.

At a Glance Climate change has been particularly impactful for Lake Erie, where algal blooms are becoming a yearly nuisance and danger.

Warmer summers are negatively impacting wildlife, tourism, recreation and shipping.

A harmful algal bloom is once again making its presence abundantly known on the surface of Lake Erie , a condition that has now become a yearly nuisance and a dangerous situation for residents, tourists, fish and wildlife. And it's all thanks to climate change.

Rising temperatures, extreme weather, damaged ecosystems and rising sea levels are affecting all parts of the world, and the Great Lakes are no exception. Home to 84 percent of North America's surface fresh water and 21 percent of the world's fresh water, the lakes are becoming ever more threatened as the Earth's temperatures continue to rise.

Lake Erie has been particularly prone to the impacts of rising carbon dioxide concentrations and warming lake temperatures. Tourism, recreation, fish and wildlife, and shipping are all being impacted by the changing climate, and the situation is expected to only worsen in the decades to come.

According to a Great Lakes Integrated Sciences Assessment by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, future land use and climate change could drastically exacerbate algal blooms on the lakes, killing fish and wildlife, threatening human health and diminishing water quality.

The study notes that the average air temperature in the Great Lakes region has risen by 2 degrees since 1900. In recent years, the Great Lakes' waters have warmed faster than the surrounding air temperature, with Lake Superior warming twice as fast as the air since 1980.

According to the study, the average surface water temperatures have increased for each of the Great Lakes since 1995 due to spring and summer warming, earlier thawing of ice and declining ice cover.

The warmer summers mean that lakes are freezing between six to 11 days later and thawing between two to 13 days earlier.

(MORE: Lake Erie Will Have Another Harmful Algae-Ridden Summer, Scientists Say )

From 1973 to 2010, annual average ice coverage on the Great Lakes declined by 71 percent, according to the GLISA; while from 1975 to 2004, the annual number of days with land snow cover decreased by 15 and the average snow depth decreased by 2 inches.

While changes in precipitation vary by location, overall, the Great Lakes saw an 11 percent increase in total precipitation since 1900, according to GLISA. While an increase in precipitation is also predicted the decades to come thanks to climate change, the precipitation is expected to come in the form of less snow and more rain, which will only exacerbate the phosphorus-laden runoff from farms and fields that trigger harmful and toxic algal blooms.

Climate change is also expected to increase the frequency and intensity of storms in the Great Lakes region, leading to negative economic impacts from the costs of damage, erosion, preparation, clean up and disruption to business.