By now, most are aware of the dire warnings: Climate change is coming and its effects are going to be especially painful for residents of the Jersey Shore.

While the timing of the truly catastrophic predictions remains fuzzy — Will the barrier islands be lost in 2050? 2100? Later? Sooner? — there are signs that irreversible change has already begun.

From economic and public health challenges to the more obvious outcomes of heat waves and rising seas, climate change has a foothold in New Jersey.

In Lavallette, a picturesque Shore community that is on the front lines of sea level rise, New Jersey Senate and Assembly environment committees held a joint hearing Thursday in search of advice on climate change policy.

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"Regardless of what policy direction we ultimately follow, we are already experiencing changes in climate," said Anthony Broccoli, an environmental professor and co-director of Rutgers University's Climate Institute, "and there is no realistic scenario in which future changes can be completely avoided."

Climate change is a gigantic problem so how should New Jersey respond to it? Watch the video above for some ideas on where to start.

Earlier this week, the New York Times reported scientists from 13 federal agencies have concluded that evidence of climate change affecting the U.S. right now is overwhelming.

For more on that draft report, watch the video below.

Climate change is recognized as a global issue, but there is some uncertainty about what to do next, following the announcement that the U.S. intends to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, a worldwide blueprint for reducing the heat-trapping emissions that cause rising temperatures.

However, the reluctance of the Trump Administration to flex federal muscle — and create new rules and regulations — has not stopped California, New York and other states from pursuing their own strategies.

It shouldn't stop New Jersey either, each witness testified on Thursday.

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Here's what we're seeing locally, according to testimony presented to the joint committee:

1. Migrating fish

There are about 3,000 commercial fishermen in New Jersey and thousands more who work at processing plants, wholesalers or in shellfishing.

"Fishermen knew about climate change a long time ago," said Tom Fote, an officer with the Jersey Coast Anglers Association. "We started seeing stocks of fish moving farther north."

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As water temperatures rise, fish move northward, seeking deeper, cooler waters. Higher acidity in the ocean damages crabs, scallops, clams and other shellfish, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

2. Health care

Heat-related hospitalizations and emergency department visits in the summer have been rising over the past decade in New Jersey, according to research presented by Jeanne Herb and Marjorie Kaplan of the New Jersey Climate Adaptation Alliance.

Climate change is tied to a number of different public health concerns, including respiratory illnesses as smog is typically more problematic on hot, sticky summer days.

3. Stronger storms

"On average almost every year for the past two decades, New Jersey has experienced a presidentially declared disaster on some part of its coast," said David Kutner, planning manager for New Jersey Future.

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More violent coastal storms — when combined with the next item on our list — are expected to become even more destructive, according to researchers.

4. Sea level rise

The ocean is encroaching on New Jersey at a quicker rate than the global average because the state is simultaneously sinking.

Practically the entire East Coast is very slowly caving in due to geological changes, according to a report published last year by geoscientists in Florida and Rhode Island.

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That creates a double-whammy when combined with the effects of global warming.

In Atlantic City, the sea level has risen by an average of 1½ inches per decade since 1912, Broccoli said.

5. Warmer temperatures

2016 supplanted 2015 as the warmest year since official records began, 137 years ago, according to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

New Jersey has not been spared. In fact, the state's average temperature has actually grown faster than the global average, according to Broccoli.

"Summers have been unusually warm, with the seven warmest summers on record taking place since 1998," he said.

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Russ Zimmer: 732-557-5748, razimmer@app.com