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Global warming could have a grim impact in the coming decades, a new report revealed.
The report released Tuesday (August 31) by the Adrienne-Arsht Rockefeller Foundation, found that as many as 60,000 people in the US could die from extreme heat annually by 2050 if direct action isn’t taken soon.
The report found that nearly every county in the nation will see the effects of extreme heat in the coming years, leaving Black and Latinx people disproportionately more vulnerable.
Currently, about 8,500 deaths are attributed to extreme heat each year, The Huffington Post reported. If nothing is done about climate change, heat-related deaths in Texas, Arizona, and California would increase sixfold in the next three decades.
Right now, Black and Latinx workers endure 30 to 45 days of temperatures over 90 degrees while white workers experience about 25 to 30 of the same type of days.
Additionally, 16.5 million Americans see over a hundred days over 90 degrees each year. By 2050, that could increase to over 130 million people, if climate action isn’t taken.
“Extreme heat is killing Americans,” Kathy Baughman McLeod, director of the Arsht-Rock Resilience Center, said in a news release. “These numbers are a red hot call to action.”
The vulnerability of Black and Latinx Americans comes in part due to environmental racism. Practices like red lining often put racially marginalized groups in areas more exposed to extreme weather conditions.
Environmental Protection Agency Director Michael Regan has vowed to address environmental racism through the agency as the nation and world faces the real effects of climate change.
Check out these Black-led organizations taking on climate change, by clicking here.
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