Much of Lahaina, Hawaii, was destroyed in August by fast-moving wildfires.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Nowhere Is Safe From Worsening Climate Change, New US Report Warns
A major government report finds climate-fueled dangers like wildfires and heat waves are on the rise across the country. So are efforts to reduce emissions and make communities more resilient.
The floods, heat waves, storms and fires fed by global warming are getting worse across the US and will pose increasing danger to Americans unless greenhouse gas emissions are cut sharply and swiftly. The tools to do that are available today and are being adopted by communities nationwide, although not quickly enough to avert the crisis, according to a major government report released Tuesday.
Called the Fifth National Climate Assessment, the report “is the authoritative, definitive assessment of how our country is doing on climate change,” Arati Prabhakar, the director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, said ahead of the release. Not only does it make clear that “climate change is here,” she said, it also highlights how “America’s stepping up to meet this moment.”