Find Out the Climate Risk of Your Neighborhood with a New Map

The climate crisis intensifies heat waves, wildfires, droughts, and storms worldwide. Unfortunately, vulnerable groups across the world bear a disproportionate burden of the risks associated with climate change.

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In October 2023, the Environmental Defense Fund, along with Texas A&M University, published The U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index. They found that the situation is no different in the U.S.

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Communities in the U.S. South are more exposed to climate risk

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The Climate Vulnerability Index represents one of the most comprehensive climate risk maps of the U.S. to date. It demonstrates how the climate crisis is rendering different regions in the country vulnerable to dangers such as fire, flooding, and pollution. And people living in these areas are paying the price.

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According to the index, ten most vulnerable counties in the U.S. are in the South, particularly along the Gulf Coast, where poverty rates and health problems are high. Louisiana is homehalf of these counties, facing dangers from flooding, hurricanes, and industrial pollution.

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St. John the Baptist Parish, located near New Orleans along the Mississippi River, stands as the most vulnerable county identified due to costly floods, poor child and maternal health, a list of toxic air pollutants, and the highest rate of disaster-related deaths in Louisiana.

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This trend persists within cities as well. South Seattle, which boasts a more racially diverse population, experiences greater vulnerability to air pollution and flood risk compared to the affluent areas of North Seattle.

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These examples clearly demonstrate the intersection of vulnerability and climate change, and a tool like the Climate Vulnerability Index can assist us in better comprehending this.

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These examples clearly demonstrate how social, economic, and infrastructure factors impact the vulnerability of a region to climate change. A tool like the Climate Vulnerability Index can help us better understand this relationship.

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The 10 countries most vulnerable to climate risk

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These are the most vulnerable counties in the country according to the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index:
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1. St. John the Baptist, Louisiana
2. Iberville, Louisiana
3. Knox, Kentucky
4. St. Landry, Louisiana
5. Dillon, South Carolina
6. Tangipahoa, Louisiana
7. Acadia, Louisiana
8. Floyd, Kentucky
9. Jefferson, Texas
10. Whitley, Kentucky

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Why do we need a tool like the Climate Vulnerability Index?

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The Climate Vulnerability Index helps understand how social and economic factors impact a community’s ability to respond and adapt to climate change. It dives deeper into factors like income levels and access to health care and transportation and reports how they are driving vulnerability to climate change.

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It combines environmental, social, economic, and infrastructure impacts that shape a community’s ability to respond and adapt to climate change.

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All of this is available through an interactive map that pulls in over 180 sets of data to rank more than 70,000 U.S. Census tracts.

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Who can use the Climate Vulnerability Index?

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The climate risk map is available for anyone to use, but it can be especially useful for city planners, decision makers, and local governments for policy development, resource allocation, preparedness planning, and community-level environmental action planning and advocacy.

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It can also help channel investments and grants from funds like the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Inflation Reduction Act to underserved communities to help them fight the adverse impacts of the climate crisis.