Millions More Americans Will Face Climate Disasters with Warming

The population exposed to one or more extreme weather events each year could more than double by mid-century

Daniel Cusick E&E News May 11, 2020

Roughly one-third of the U.S. population—or 118 million Americans—could feel one or more extreme weather events annually by 2050 if population and greenhouse gas emissions continue to rise, new research from the Energy Department’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory shows.

That more than doubles the 47 million Americans who currently experience extreme heat and cold, prolonged droughts, and intensifying floods. And it reflects the greater frequency of climate disasters nationwide, the researchers said.

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