Climate Vulnerability Index ranks the most at-risk communities—many are in the Deep South

Written by Andy Castillo

From flooding in the east to wildfires in the west, communities and regions of all compositions and sizes across the United States are vulnerable to the effects of climate change—especially those already experiencing environmental harm, poor infrastructure and health disparities. The majority of the most at-risk regions can be found on the Gulf Coast, according to a new index created by the Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University, which rates U.S. communities based on their climate vulnerabilities.

The U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index uses the public data of more than 180 vulnerability-related indicators—across health, socio/economic, and infrastructure, among other things—to rank upwards of 70,000 communities, visualizing the cumulative impacts they and many communities like them experience from decades of inequitable development and systemic disinvestment, a statement from the Environmental Defense Fund about the project says.

“The Biden Administration has made a historic level of funding available to build toward climate justice and equity, but the right investments need to flow to the right places for the biggest impact,” says Dr. Grace Tee Lewis, senior health scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund. The index “equips and enables communities, policymakers and organizations to proactively address vulnerabilities and enhance resilience in the face of a changing climate.”

Vulnerability indicators used in the analysis include a flood risk score developed by First Street Foundation, data from the 2019 National Bridge Inventory, and traffic data from the Federal Highway Administration, according to a peer-reviewed article, Characterizing vulnerabilities to climate change across the United States, published in Science Direct.

Users can explore the data from a dashboard and interactive map, searching by location to view a region’s overall climate vulnerability. The dashboard, which was created by Darkhorse Analytics, also displays conditions like housing, access to supermarkets, proximity to waste sites and the number of deaths due to pollution.

“For example, census tracts in Houston’s Settegast community rank in the 99th percentile for overall vulnerability,” the statement continues. “The CVI shows what is driving vulnerability, including low chronic disease prevention, high exposure to harmful pollutants like soot and inadequate access to fresh, nutritious food.”

According to the index, five of the top 10 most vulnerable counties in the U.S. are in Louisiana, three are in Kentucky, and there’s one each in Texas and South Carolina. They are: St. John the Baptist, La.; Iberville, La.; Knox, Ky.; St. Landry, La.; Dillon, S.C.; Tangipahoa, La.; Acadia, La.; Floyd, Ky.; Jefferson, Tx.; Whitley, Ky.

Generally, communities in the southeastern states and further westward (Texas, New Mexico, Arizona, California’s Central Valley) were found to be at the greatest risk, “with statistically significant hotspots throughout these regions and the lowest scores, and corresponding cold spots in the Northeast, upper Mid-West, and West Coast,” the peer-reviewed article says, noting that communities with the most health risks associated with climate change are centered in the south. “The 100 census tracts with the highest overall CVI scores were concentrated in 28 counties in nine states (Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, North Carolina, and South Carolina), mostly clustered in urban areas”

The statement notes the tool can equip policymakers and advocates to best direct their actions to the areas that need it the most.

“The launch of the CVI represents a significant leap forward in our understanding of the cumulative impacts of climate change,” said Dr. Weihsueh A. Chiu, a professor in the department of veterinary physiology and pharmacology at the Texas A&M School of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences. “By offering a comprehensive framework to evaluate the multi-dimensional susceptibilities of communities to climate-related risks, this new tool provides a template for addressing local-scale climate and environmental justice globally.”

For more information and to access a comprehensive list of grant funding opportunities, user-friendly tutorials and real-life examples, visit the index’s website at climatevulnerabilityindex.org.