Climate change causes both fast and slow disasters: it is linked to increasing incidence of extreme weather (hurricanes, catastrophic flooding, and dams breaking, for example) and also to slow, less dramatic but still very threatening changes -- in water availability, agricultural productivity, disease incidence, and so on. This is why we refer to climate change as a “combo disaster.” These forms of disaster also interact to produce new hazards: for example, nearly one third of all RMP facilities are threatened by rising sea levels.
There are five primary types of climate hazards:
Extreme heat and temperature increases
Wildfire
Drought and water scarcity
Extreme weather
Sea level rise and flooding
Because all of these hazards have the same root cause (climate change), they are much more interconnected than fast or slow disaster hazards. For example, wildfires are exacerbated by extreme heat, drought, and extreme weather (like increasingly frequent and severe thunderstorms). Wildfires and drought can lead to deforestation and loss of ground cover which results in more severe flooding.
Climate change has led to an increased frequency of extreme weather, such as hurricanes, that are growing more intense. Hurricanes can flood residential homes, destroy infrastrucutre, and result in the loss of life. In August 2023, the National Hurricane Centered issued its first tropical storm watch for Southern California.
Rising global temperatures, driven by climate change, increase the range of suitable habitat for vectors such as arthopods, mammals, plants, and fungi. As a result, incidences of vectore-borne diseases increase.
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Select all that apply: The City of Richmond has identified the following climate change-related threats to the city:
environmental organizations that advocate for a “just transition”
potential for coastal flooding from sea level rise
water scarcity due to increased unreliability of runoff from the Sierra Nevada Mountains
potential for heat stress, with particular impacts on the City’s more vulnerable residents.
Select all that apply: In March 2022, NPR published an article titled “Climate change threatens nearly one third of U.S. hazardous chemical facilities.” The article highlights how RMP facilities face threats from
prolonged power outages from heat waves or storms.
internal sabotage.
flooding from severe storms and sea level rise.
Wildfires.
Select all that apply: The City of Richmond has identified the following climate change-related threats to the city:
environmental organizations that advocate for a “just transition”
potential for coastal flooding from sea level rise
water scarcity due to increased unreliability of runoff from the Sierra Nevada Mountains
potential for heat stress, with particular impacts on the City’s more vulnerable residents.
Select all that apply: In March 2022, NPR published an article titled “Climate change threatens nearly one third of U.S. hazardous chemical facilities.” The article highlights how RMP facilities face threats from
prolonged power outages from heat waves or storms.
internal sabotage.
flooding from severe storms and sea level rise.
Wildfires.
Climate change drives the increased frequencies of extreme heat which enhances evaporation, dries out soil, and exacerbates droughts. This combo disaster also limts water availability. This is an image of Lake Oroville in Calfornia's Central Valley experiencing a drought in 2015.