Extreme climate events, such as a flood, can have a devastating compound effect on communities already struggling to adapt to a changing climate.
Credit: Marc Bruxelle/Shutterstock
A major weather event such as a hurricane or wildfire can have lasting, visible impacts on communities, but the longer-term, compounding effects of a changing climate can be harder to see. In its contributions to the recently released Fifth National Climate Assessment (NCA5), the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) highlights ways that communities can adapt and become more resilient as the climate changes.
The NCA5, a congressionally mandated report by multiple U.S. government agencies, analyzes the impacts, risks and responses of global climate change in the United States, and the message is clear: Communities must adapt. To help communities make decisions to improve their resilience, the report provides comprehensive information on how people across the country are experiencing climate change, the risks we face now and in the future, and actions underway to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and build resilience.
The NCA5 takes a much more holistic approach to understanding climate impacts than its previous editions have. For the first time in the report’s multi-decade history, chapters on social equity and environmental justice have been included. Also, for the first time, NIST has several authors contributing to the report, in chapters that explore how communities can adapt to climate change while promoting the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all affected.
Jennifer Helgeson, a research economist at NIST, worked with experts from across the country to analyze the challenges that low-income and socially vulnerable communities face due to clima ..
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