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New Brighton Climate Action Plan 1 -3 <br />Extreme Heat and Weather <br />Certain groups of people are more at risk for stress, health <br />impacts, or death related to extreme weather events <br />including tornadoes, wind storms, lightning, winter storms, <br />hail storms, and cold waves. Vulnerability to heat stress can <br />be increased by certain variables including the presence of <br />health conditions like diabetes and heart conditions, <br />demographic and socioeconomic factors, and surrounding <br />land cover. <br /> <br />Air Quality <br />Climate change is expected to affect air quality through <br />several pathways including production and potency of <br />allergens and pollen, and increased regional concentrations <br />of ozone, increased potential of smoke from wildflres, and <br />increased particulate air pollution and dust. <br /> <br />Flooding <br />According to the latest National Climate Assessment, the <br />frequency of heavy precipitation events are already <br />increasing for the nation as a whole as well as for Minnesota <br />speciflcally. These heavy rain events are projected to <br />increase throughout Minnesota. Increases in both extreme <br />precipitation and total precipitation are likely to increasingly <br />contribute to over-bank fiooding (river and lake fiooding) as <br />well as fiash fiooding. <br /> <br />Food Insecurity <br />Climate change is likely to destabilize cropping systems, <br />interrupt transportation networks, and trigger food <br />shortages and spikes in food cost. <br /> <br />Infrastructure Failure <br />Extreme weather events, fiooding and fiash fiooding, as well <br />as increasing daily stresses caused by increasing climate <br />variability, all represent potential causes of failure of our <br />aging infrastructure. Power outages, road damage, bridge <br />collapse, and water infrastructure failure each represent <br />signiflcant physical climate risks to the community. <br />Climate Risks To <br />New Brighton <br />New Brighton Climate Risk Sensitivity <br />Ranking Summary <br />According to the Climate Vulnerability <br />Assessment, the city's population vulnerabilities <br />range from highest to lowest sensitivity. <br />However, risks with lower sensitivity shouldn't <br />be deemed irrelevant for the community. <br />The projected changes to New Brighton’s climate in the coming decades represent potential risks to residents. <br />These risks are inequitably felt and are particularly acute in populations especially vulnerable to them such as <br />children, seniors, and those with disabilities (see the New Brighton Climate Vulnerability Assessment for more <br />information). Below are some of the more signiflcant risks to the community’s population.