According to NPR, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and Harvard T.H., a large majority of Americans have been adversely affected by extreme weather in recent decades. Many are now facing long-term financial difficulties. Chan School of Public Health.
The survey revealed that more than three quarters of Americans have been affected by extreme weather over the past five years. This includes floods and hurricanes as well as heat waves. The majority of people who are financially distressed or suffer severe weather damage do not receive any money from the federal government.
According to the survey “The Impact of Extreme weather on Views About Climate Policy In the United States”, extreme weather is also more common for people to view climate change as a major problem or crisis.
These results highlight how dangerous and widespread climate change is for Americans as the hottest month of the year begins. People across the country are preparing for yet another year of severe hurricanes.
Robert J. Blendon, codirector of the survey, is a Harvard T.H. professor of policy and analysis and co-director. Chan School of Public Health.
The most affected people were those who experienced heat waves. Over half of respondents to the survey said they had experienced extreme heat. A heat wave broke or tied temperature records in many U.S. cities just last week.
People’s health is also being affected by extreme weather. One quarter of people who have experienced extreme weather over the past five years claimed that someone in their family has a serious health issue. Particularly dangerous wildfires: 38% of households that were affected by wildfires had someone who was suffering from a serious condition, mostly due to smoke exposure.
A majority of respondents supported state actions to protect people from extreme weather such as strengthening electrical grids to withstand heat waves and storms, and upgrading infrastructure to avoid flooding.
John Kotcher, professor at George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication, says that “It doesn’t surprise me that there’s a high degree of support for policies in order to protect against future storms.” “Nobody wants their home to be flooded. Nobody wants a wildfire to encroach on their house.
Climate change is causing more severe heat waves, floods and wildfires than ever before.
This connection seems to be obvious to many Americans. The survey revealed that people who have experienced extreme weather are more likely than others to view climate change as a serious issue and to support spending by the government to prevent future disasters and lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Kotcher says, “This pattern is consistent with some of the research.” Kotcher notes that academic research is growing that links people’s personal experiences of weather with their views on climate change.
He said that there are still many questions about the underside of the ocean.
“Is it possible that extreme weather experiences are influencing people’s attitudes towards [climate change]?” Or is it the reverse? He says so. “It is difficult to discern which one is influencing another.”
This is because most surveys, including the current one, are based on subjective experiences with weather. The person answering the question will decide if a series of hot days was “extreme”. People who are more concerned about climate change might be more inclined to attribute hot days to global warming.
Studying people’s views on climate based upon objective measurements of extreme weather such as flood depth or temperature have yielded mixed results.
The survey shows that the majority of Americans are affected by extreme weather, partly because it causes long-term problems for millions.
This survey also reveals how financially damaging extreme weather can be for families, even if it doesn’t make the headlines.
This is because even common weather like high tide floods and severe thunderstorms can be very expensive. It can cost thousands to repair or replace a damaged roof or waterlogged vehicle.
The survey also suggests that insurance and government assistance can be insufficient in many cases. Around 17% of people affected by extreme weather reported serious financial difficulties, which could potentially impact tens to millions of households across the nation.
The survey shows that most families end up having to pay for the cost of disasters. More than 70% of those with serious financial or property damage after a disaster said that they were either underinsured or uninsured. This means that the insurance money they received didn’t cover the majority of the costs.
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Insurance is often expensive. Roy Wright, who is the head of Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety and was previously the head federal flood insurance program. “This is an affordability issue.” He points out that renters and those without mortgages are more likely to forgo insurance due to the high cost.
The survey revealed that even those with home or rental insurance are often responsible for paying for repairs following a storm. One quarter of people who suffered major financial or property damage after a storm said that their insurance didn’t cover all or most of the bill.
Jennifer Harris and her family were the victims of this. Harris and her husband have three children and live in Hampton, Va. Harris claims that their home was damaged twice by storms in the last decade. According to the National Climate Assessment, rising seas and a warmer atmosphere are contributing to severe rainstorms or hurricanes in this part of the country.
The Harris family has been hit hard by the high costs. The Harris family discovered that their home insurance policy required them to pay a huge out-of-pocket amount aEUR 10% of the property’s actual value before they would be able to get insurance. They had no other choice but to get a roof over their heads. They used all their savings to pay for the repairs and sought help from family members.
Harris said, “It was terrible.” Harris says, “I don’t want it to seem like we’re poor. But, honestly, it’s hard to save when something like this happens. It took them five years to rebuild their finances, she says.
The costs associated with a hotter climate are not just high. The Harris family purchased their house in an area that was not at high risk for flooding when they bought it. However, as the sea level rises and heavy rains become more frequent, more homes are at risk, including theirs.
The Harris family must evacuate when a storm is brewing aEUR”, which means that they will need to fuel their car for long trips to visit family members or pay for lodging. The family will also need to purchase expensive flood insurance. Harris states that it is an additional financial hardship. We’re on a budget.
Climate change is the most dangerous threat to people living in marginalized areas around the globe. This is confirmed by the new survey, which gives a snapshot of the people who are living at the frontlines of global warming in the U.S.
The survey revealed that Native Americans who are subject to extreme weather are more likely than other racial or ethnic groups to face long-lasting financial difficulties. Nearly half of Native Americans affected by extreme weather over the past five years reported that their family faced financial difficulties aEUR” four times more than whites.
Blacks who were affected by extreme weather had three times as many financial problems than whites. Respondents who identified themselves as Latino experienced financial difficulties after severe weather events at twice the rate that whites.
All racial/ethnic groups were affected by weather-related financial problems. Households with income below $50,000 per annum had more trouble than households earning more.
Research shows that credit scores and mortgage delinquency increase in areas of poverty and communities of color after a disaster. This is in contrast to white neighborhoods or neighborhoods with more wealth.
Caroline Ratcliffe, one the authors of a 2020 paper, says that “disasters may have the effect of increasing existing inequalities.” She was one of the researchers of the paper. It examined the financial consequences over four years following a disaster.
She believes that a flood, storm, wildfire, or flood does not need to be a record-breaking event to cause financial problems in the long-term. This is partly because people who are affected by medium-sized disasters do not qualify for federal emergency relief funds. She says that medium-sized disasters can be viewed as a bit more than their weight.
This is supported by the new survey which shows that most people who suffered severe damage to their homes or had financial difficulties due to extreme weather did not receive any money from the federal government.
