The Reference Shelf: Extreme Weather

From droughts and water shortages, to floods and tropical storms, more than 40 percent of Americans live in areas that have been hit by major climate disasters, and this percentage will grow as climate change makes extreme weather more likely to occur and more damaging. Across the country, extreme weather claims more and more lives each year, and causes billions in damage and lost productivity. Many towns and cities, from both coasts through the middle of the country, have faced national emergencies because of the climate.

The intensifying threat of extreme weather raises a number of important questions, such as whether the federal government and state governments are doing enough to protect citizens from extreme weather, whether emergency services can effectively address the loss experienced by those faced with climate disaster, and whether this increasingly unavoidable evidence of climate chaos will have an impact on the global debate about how to address climate change.