Mapping Climate Risks by County and Community

Remember like everything else to do with climate, this is a snapshot and a study of future impacts. Likely some of the forecasts are based on history and others on projections for what is to come. Overlaying the socioeconomic aspects of a community provides an additional perspective on impacts of climate change. There were some new terms used in the document — new to me anyway. 

See this link: "Mapping Climate Risks by County and Community."

Let's call this next piece an "Executive Summary" of sorts. I recommend paging through the link to see all the maps.

Four Twenty Seven analyzes several physical risks to the U.S. landscape, including sea level rise; hurricanes; extreme rainfall; water stress; and heat stress, characterized by higher temperatures. Many of Four Twenty Seven’s projections through 2040 show the risks are regional, as illustrated in maps below. We also parse the degree to which high risks differ by ACP type. Six key takeaways emerge from filtering:

1. Sea level rise stands out as a climate hazard in Military Posts, based on the percentage of these counties affected compared with the ACP’s 14 other community types.
2. The threat of hurricanes hangs over a clear majority of African American South counties, where the populations tend to have lower incomes and less higher education experience. No other community type reaches the 50 percent threshold, though Military Posts come close.
3. Extreme rainfall is also expected in a majority of counties in the African American South as well as mostly-white Working Class Country and blue-collar Middle Suburbs. When it comes to the African American South’s two big climate risks, many Black homeowners and renters, in particular, live in low-lying areas and lack flood insurance, making them more vulnerable. In Middle Suburbs, where the manufacturing sector has been hit hard by globalization these past 30 years, intense floods could pose additional economic harm, negatively impacting industry and transportation into the future.
4. More than three-quarters of two rural community types with young populations — Hispanic Centers and LDS Enclaves — expect to experience significant drought conditions in the coming years. This may be especially harmful in Hispanic Centers, where agriculture is a key industry and heavily dependent on water availability.
5. Heat stress is forecast in a majority of Evangelical Hubs, i.e. lower-income, less educated, and less diverse communities with a large number of Evangelical adherents, located in the Midwest and South. That education and income are the strongest socioeconomic drivers of health effects from heat may make Evangelical communities more sensitive to absorbing these perils.
6. Among the 47 Big City counties, all five physical risks are notable, with hurricanes, water stress, and heat stress the most prevalent by percentage. For these stratified, diverse communities, populations are likely to be unevenly affected by the hazards.

I picked the link above from a Hagerty Consulting Bi-Weekly Digest.