In this article we are going to present our list of the 25 U.S. cities Most Vulnerable to Climate Change. Click to skip ahead and jump to the 10 U.S. cities Most Vulnerable to Climate Change.
If you believe that climate change isn’t real, then perhaps this article might not be for you. I am not going to attempt to explain what a million times more qualified scientists have been going on about for years if not decades. And maybe, just maybe, it would’ve perhaps on some level made sense, decades ago to believe that there is no such thing as climate change when the effects seemed more hypothetical rather than real. But now, as we’ve seen time and again over the past few years, the effects of climate change are extremely real and can be felt all across the world.
After all, the last seven years have been the seven warmest years on record ever since record keeping began. And in these years, we’ve seen the frequency of adverse weather events increase drastically. In some countries, a white Christmas is just a memory rather than a reality, relegated to history as global warming claims winter. In Iceland, glaciers are receding at an alarming rate, far faster than what scientists predicted, showing that climate change may even be harsher and quicker than anticipated despite all the pledges being made by countries to fight it and try to save the world. On the other hand, there are places where winter is now harsher, with Netherlands experiencing its first major snowstorm in at least a decade in 2021, while last year, Karachi Pakistan saw its highest rainfall in history, completely paralyzing the city for days.
Li Hui Chen/Shutterstock.com
Amid the increased awareness of climate change, there’s been a lot of initiatives on reducing the carbon footprint and switching to renewable energy. Additionally, many entrepreneurs have emerged and created whole new markets centered around combating climate change. Most commonly known examples are solar energy companies like First Solar, Inc. (NASDAQ:FSLR), JinkoSolar Holding Co., Ltd (NYSE:JKS), Canadian Solar Inc. (NASDAQ:CSIQ), and Renewable Energy Group (NASDAQ:REGI). These companies, which also rank among the biggest renewable energy companies are centering their business model around providing products and services for the solar energy industry.
Another popular and very rapidly growing market has been that of vehicles powered by alternative fuel. Of course, we all know Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) and Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO), which have been developing and marketing electric vehicles. And we also know that Volkswagen Group has been developing a line of EVs across its entire brand portfolio, including Audi, Volkswagen, and Porsche. Tesla, Nio, and Volkswagen are joined by a long long list of automakers that’ve introduced Electric Vehicles into the line-up, but what makes Tesla and Nio stand out is that they not only rank among pioneers, but also that their huge success in the EV market has placed them among the most valuable car companies in the world.
Tesla has went even further and acquired SolarCity and has been working on “Solar Roof”, tiles that would not only protect the house from the elements, but will also generate electricity for their residents, making it a smart way to cut your utility bills.
All in all, the growth of Tesla Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA), Nio Inc (NYSE:NIO), as well as First Solar (NASDAQ:FSLR), JinkoSolar Holding (NYSE:JKS) as public companies show that climate change has been an issue on the radars of not just scientists, but investors as well. For example, ARK Investment Management, led by Catherine D. Wood, has the biggest position in its portfolio represented by Tesla. Ray Dalio’s Bridgewater Associates owns more than 1.6 million shares of Nio, while First Solar and JinkoSolar can see Cliff Asness’ AQR Capital Management among their shareholders.
And despite the mounting evidence, former President of the United States of America withdrew his country from the Paris Agreement, which was signed in 2016. Thankfully, Joe Biden immediately got the U.S. readmitted upon assuming office, and that is quite important, since the United States is the second highest emitter of carbon dioxide, second only to China, and even then, China’s output is twice that of the US, despite the population of China being around four times greater. And the United States is facing some extreme challenges because of the impact of climate change, such as the unexpected snowstorm across Texas, which resulted in the deaths of dozens of people with the state being wholly unequipped to deal with the disaster. Extreme weather events are now a lot more frequent, and as glaciers melt due to global warming, sea levels are rising and threatening to completely envelop many cities.
And this is what we’ve identified in compiling our list of cities most affected by climate change. It is extremely important to know which cities are at the highest risk of flooding, and it looks like Florida is the riskiest state, with 12 of our 25 cities from our list of U.S. cities most vulnerable to climate change belonging to the state, with Virginia coming second with four entries in the list. To compile our rankings, we used different metrics for our listing, including the total number of people exposed to 100 year flood zones, the percentage of population so exposed and the increase in the percentage of people exposed to 100 year flood zones in each city. Our data has been taken from Climate Central. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the cities most at risk of disappearing in the next century:
25. Corpus Christi, Tx
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 19,647
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 5.2
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 24.5
Texas-located Corpus Christi ranks 25th on our list of U.S. cities most vulnerable to climate change. By 2080, the sea level in Corpus Christi will have increased by at least 2.6 feet, and immediate work is required to combat these effects.
24. Cambridge, MA
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 24,015
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 0.2
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 12,811.3
While a plan to battle climate change was developed in 2002, the city is still facing massive danger, with a 12,811% increase expected in the population at risk.
23. Newark, NJ
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 15,559
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 0.6
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 876.7
Next in line among U.S. cities most vulnerable to climate change is Newark, which has already started to face the effects of climate change.
Pixabay/Public Domain
22. Jacksonville, FL
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 42,854
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 2.4
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 117.8
Along with Savannah, Jacksonville is expected to face a severe increase in frequency of major floods.
21. Savannah, GA
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 14,954
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 4.8
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 126.9
Within 30 years, once in a century floods in Savannah will become once in a year flood, showing how bad the situation is expected to become in the ensuing decades.
Copyright: sepavo / 123RF Stock Photo
20. Stamford, CT
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 7,260
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 5.9
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 329.1
Heavy rain, snow, droughts and tropical storms have already begun to ravage the city.
19. Chesapeake, VA
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 36,041
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 10.6
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 53.4
Warmer weather and water temperature, rising seas and extremely adverse weather events have already been observes in the area.
18. Tampa, FL
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 57,131
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 14.8
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 15.3
Florida is a state at risk, which is why a lot of its cities make our list of the most vulnerable cities in U.S. to climate change, including Tampa.
Pixabay/Public Domain
17. Jersey City, NJ
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 42,541
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 12.7
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 35.2
Jersey City is already currently experiencing the impact of climate change considering its coastal location and the situation is expected to get worse with time.
Pixabay/Public Domain
16. Boston, MA
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 62,229
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 0.5
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 2,134.4
Boston is working on plans to ensure its readiness for the long term effects of climate change.
Harold Stiver/Shutterstock.com
15. Hampton, VA
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 41,066
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 21.6
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 38.5
Halfway through our list of U.S. cities most vulnerable to climate change we should mention Hampton. The risk of flooding has affected the city’s economy, with property values in Hampton seeing significant drops, especially in locations at risk from frequent flooding, either now or in the near future.
14. Virginia Beach, VA
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 57,994
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 4.3
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 210.5
Virginia Beach is at massive risk of of rising sea level changes, as evidenced by the increase in population to be exposed to flood zones.
13. Cape Coral, FL
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 65,936
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 38.6
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 11.1
Cape Coral has its own climate vulnerability assessment, necessitated by the risk that the city faces in the next few decades.
12. St. Petersburg, FL
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 91,291
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 35.9
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 4
The effect of rising sea levels on St. Petersburg is being considered by the city with renewed urgency.
11. New York City, NY
Total Population in 100 year flood zones: 426,065
Population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 3
Increase in population exposed in 100 year flood zones (in percentage terms): 74.1
The most populous city in the United States is also one of the U.S. cities most vulnerable to climate change, and it looks like the situation will only worsen over the next several decades.
Please continue to see the 10 U.S. cities most vulnerable to climate change.
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Disclosure: None. 25 U.S. cities most vulnerable to climate change is originally published at Insider Monkey.
