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New Brighton Climate Action Plan 8 -1 <br />Improving community resilience through healthy <br />community connections, infrastructure, and <br />systems. <br />Climate change impacts human and environmental health <br />in Minnesota. Rising temperatures, shifting rain patterns, <br />and expanding disease-vector habitats are worsening <br />health problems. Heatwaves increase heat-related <br />illnesses, endangering the elderly, infants, and the <br />chronically ill. <br /> <br />Altered precipitation can cause fioods and droughts. <br />Floods risk waterborne diseases through water <br />contamination, while droughts induce wildflres and dust <br />storms, worsening respiratory conditions. <br /> <br />Longer growing seasons in Minnesota due to warmer <br />temperatures may increase disease vectors like <br />mosquitoes and ticks, raising the incidence of diseases <br />like West Nile virus and Lyme disease. <br /> <br />Lastly, climate change's social and economic fallout could <br />heighten mental health disorders due to increased <br />anxiety, stress, and disaster-induced trauma. <br /> <br />The Role of Local Governments in Climate <br />Health and Safety <br />Climate change signiflcantly threatens public health, <br />affecting air quality, weather, food and water sources, and <br />interaction with our environment. As climate effects <br />intensify, associated health risks rise. Local governments <br />and healthcare have long advocated healthy habits to <br />boost public health. Similarly, they must acknowledge and <br />respond to the link between climate impacts, adaptive <br />strategies, resilience measures, and community health. <br />Our environmental state crucially shapes our health <br />outcomes. <br /> <br />Climate Hazards <br />Climate stressors entail more frequent and <br />severe poor air quality days, extreme heat, <br />heavy rainfall, prolonged pollen seasons, and <br />shifts in disease-carrying pest distribution. <br />78% <br />of survey respondents have <br />already been personally <br />impacted by one or more <br />effects of climate change. <br />Health and Safety <br />Equity Considerations <br />While climate change can affect anyone’s <br />health, exposures and impacts vary within our <br />communities, with some bearing a <br />disproportionate burden. The National <br />Climate Assessment identifies children, older <br />adults, low-income communities, individuals <br />with disabilities, individuals who work outside <br />or in untampered spaces, and certain <br />communities of color as being at elevated risk <br />from climate-related health impacts. These <br />same groups, including those facing <br />discrimination, are particularly vulnerable to <br />extreme heat, weather events, and carry a <br />heightened level of health and social <br />vulnerability, which restricts their access to <br />resources that could safeguard against climate <br />change risks. <br />Click here to <br />return to TOC