How Data Is Powering Community Action on Climate and Health

Extreme weather is no longer a distant threat — it’s here. New data from NASA confirms that there has been a dramatic increase of extreme weather events in the past five years, with studies showing the events are more severe, longer-lasting, and frequent. In the last year alone, the number of extreme weather events was twice as many as the 2003-2020 average. And a new study in Nature estimates that if the planet continues warming at its current rate, more than 70,000 excess deaths will happen in the United States by the year 2050.

During New York Climate Week, Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability, the city of Detroit, NYC Department of Health, the New York University City Health program and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) hosted a panel to discuss centering health and using data to continue delivering solutions for communities facing extreme weather, including heat, flooding, and wildfires. In addition, special remarks from Congresswoman Maxine Dexter, M.D., Mayor Van R. Johnson (Savannah, GA), Mayor Shawyn Patterson-Howard (Mount Vernon, NY) and Mayor Yadira Ramos-Herbert (New Rochelle, NY) highlighted the role of data in shaping health-focused climate solutions in cities with majority residents of color. Statistically, these communities have fewer resources, or higher rates of poverty, and experience other social determinants that exacerbate the effects of extreme weather.

Here are the 5 top takeaways as we navigate this new normal:

1. Data is the backbone of climate and health solutions 

Leaders are pivoting to health and finance solutions that deliver big community benefits for wellbeing, the economy and more. “We don’t have the luxury of ignoring climate [change] because we live at its intersection,” said Mayor Patterson-Howard. She described how data revealed a stark divide in Mount Vernon, NY: tree-lined streets in the north are up to seven degrees cooler than the south side, where residents face higher asthma rates and utility bills. 

“With a five-to-seven-degree difference in heat because of urban heat islands on the south side and tree lined streets on the north side. What does that cause? More asthma, more pulmonary issues and higher utility bills for the people that can afford them the least,” said Mayor Patterson-Howard. “So when people talk about climate change, they act like it's something theoretical. No, it's the flash floods that fill our basement and our businesses. It's the unrelenting heat that scorches our pavements. It is the rising costs of utility expenses that are crippling our seniors. It is the heat and the poor air quality that our children have to play in and go back and forth to school. And so, it's not something that we can just look at as a side issue. But despite decades of disinvestment and challenges in our community, we are leaning into a climate space.”

City leadership partnered with organizations like the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation, the Environmental Facilities Corporation, the State Department of Health, and the State Department of Transportation to do air quality studies. Furthermore, they worked with the Natural Resources Defense Council to secure over $170 million to work on air and water quality monitoring, flood mitigation, and infrastructure upgrades that prioritize the health and safety of Mount Vernon’s underserved communities. 

Mayor Patterson-Howard and her administration are creating a comprehensive system of projects and programs that advances a first of its kind urban heat policy. 

2. Cities must adapt and mitigate at the same time

Cities can adapt to the risks of the changing climate while addressing its sources head on. For example, Detroit is turning vacant land into opportunity in a way that addresses current issues and protects against future poor health outcomes. The city worked with EDF to pull together 145 pieces of data pertaining to health, socioeconomic, and infrastructure factors and overlaid them on a map of the city, illustrating areas of blight and galvanizing Detroit’s blight initiative. With more than 124,000 empty parcels, the city is converting those lots into urban farms and developing clean energy in residential neighborhoods.

"Detroit is a full mix of protecting the most vulnerable, mitigating and adapting,” said Detroit’s Chief Strategy Officer Trisha Stein, “It can't be one or the other. We're taking vacant blighted land and we've got a whole coordinated strategy. We're doing 60 plus urban farms. That is covering a lot of different areas: protecting the vulnerable, mitigation, and adaptation – all to stabilize the land, make it more productive, stabilize neighborhoods, make the land more productive, and grow locally sourced food. There are public health benefits…$23 million worth of benefits from developing 165 acres of mostly vacant blighted land."

3. Climate and health aren’t political, they’re personal

Climate change is fueling extreme weather across the globe. Within the United States and in cities across the political spectrum, hurricanes are becoming more intense, wildfires are burning longer, sea levels are rising and causing more flooding, and extreme winter weather is hitting harder.

“We live in a political world. Some things should not be political. Some things should be governed by science and governed by research. Period. Climate change is one of them – our climate is changing. Period,” said Mayor Johnson. “I'm not smart enough to tell you why it's changing. I know the results of the change.”

The residents of Savannah, Georgia are feeling the consequential impacts of extreme weather at an increasing rate during hurricane season (June through November) each year, with 70% of Savannah’s most impactful and intense storms having occurred since 2015, in its 292-year history. City leaders and the mayor are working to center solutions to protect all of their residents.

“We find ourselves every year in a position of being under some type of threat from a weather occurrence,” said Mayor Johnson, “The equity piece for us is essential because we also recognize that there are those who are historically marginalized. And for those if they're exposed to geography or pollution or poverty, they will suffer most. As we work through issues of climate, health, and how do we position ourselves in the future, we don't have the time to be political when it comes to our folks…if we're not careful, we will certainly leave a lot of our communities in disarray for many years to come.”

4. Listen to diverse voices when shaping policy

There are a multitude of factors that cause cities to experience the effects of extreme weather unevenly: monetary resources, geographical differences, and existing health challenges amongst others. Senior Vice President for Justice and Equity at EDF, Margot Brown, reminded the audience that climate change doesn’t create health inequities—it exacerbates them. 

"Climate change is what we call a threat multiplier – it doesn't just create new challenges, it worsens the ones that we already face, especially for the most vulnerable populations,” said Brown. “People who already face systemic barriers due to poverty, racism, or the lack of access to resources are hit first and worst by the climate crisis.” 

Reflecting on her career as a physician and now congresswoman, Representative Maxine Dexter (OR-03) emphasized that she’s not just a voice in Washington but a partner to her constituents. “I really appreciate the importance of those stories of your real-life experiences and bringing it to Washington so that we can inform them – the best bills that I've ever had are the ones that came from real life experience. Not from me thinking that this is a good idea but knowing that it's a good idea from those of you on the ground,” said Rep. Dexter. 

Multiple studies show that disadvantaged and marginalized communities suffer disproportionately from extreme weather events. Extreme weather events can act as a tipping point for households on the edge of financial insecurity; and federal assistance programs aimed at recovery often fail to support the most vulnerable.

“Investing in community, in building data, and understanding what’s meaningful makes a difference in people’s lives,” said Brown. “It rebuilds the community and that’s addressing a lot of the problems we’re facing as a country now.”

5. Leaders don’t choose their crises, climate chooses for them

In her comments, Rep. Dexter recalled Oregon’s devastating 2020 wildfires, which burned more than a million acres. The smoke spread far beyond the fire line, endangering firefighters and residents alike. As a pulmonary and critical care physician before becoming a congresswoman, Rep. Dexter is acutely familiar with the health impacts of wildfires and smoke and was able to utilize her background by considering the ongoing consequences for those dealing directly with the fires.

“That devastation doesn’t stop at the fire line,” said Rep. Dexter. “The smoke literally goes where the wind blows it. Wildland firefighters have been out there with bandanas over their faces, fighting for generations. You don’t see mainland firefighters doing that anymore and we need that for our wildland firefighters. We aren’t recruiting because people are literally dying as a result of their exposures. Our office is engaged and working on air quality issues.”

As city leaders continue to do this work, they must remember why and how they can achieve real progress. "We should be depending on science to make policy,” said Rep. Dexter. “We have the resources to incentivize scientific research and funding data collection, and as citizens we need to demand that it is an investment the government makes. We can help connect dots across sectors making sure that we see the economic implications as well as the health implications of events."

Keep Moving Forward

Despite the political challenges that city leaders are currently facing in addressing extreme weather impacts in an equity-forward manner, all of the panelists and speakers agreed that this work is more important than ever.

“There are challenges ahead. We are facing them right now. But we have to maintain hope. We have to understand that science is grounded in reality,” said Rep. Dexter. “Whatever is happening right now, we need to continue to focus on what we can control and how we respond to the dynamics of the time -- and not lose focus on the importance of this work.”

Watch the full event recording here.