No place in the US is safe from the climate crisis that’s already here, new report shows

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By now we may be numb to the dire climate change headlines that seem to inject gloom into our news feeds on a weekly, if not daily, basis. But today Americans got a detailed look at the climate crisis that's hard to ignore – because many of them are already living it. Here are the big takeaways from the Fifth National Climate Assessment, a sweeping report mandated by Congress that only comes out about every five years.

THE IMPACT – NOW

• A standout in the new report is that scientists can now tie climate change to current disasters with much greater confidence. So-called attribution science “has advanced significantly over the last five years, and that really helps people connect the dots,” says climate scientist Katharine Hayhoe, who contributed to the report.
• Climate change doesn’t cause things like hurricanes or wildfires, but it can make them more frequent and intense. Warmer oceans and air make hurricanes stronger, wetter and faster to develop. Trees and vegetation parched by climate change act as tinderboxes for unprecedented wildfires that quickly spin out of control.
• Evidence abounds as recently as last summer: A heat wave consisting of 31 straight days over 110°F baked the Phoenix area, contributing to the more than 500 heat-related deaths recorded in Arizona’s Maricopa County, a grim record. Vermont was inundated with deadly floodwaters from torrential rain. A major hurricane slammed Florida's Gulf Coast for the second time in two years. And Maui is still recovering from the historic wildfires that swept across the western part of the island in August.

THE SCOPE

• Today’s report outlines how no corner of the US is safe from the climate crisis, but it is affecting some more severely.
• Some states, including California, Florida, Louisiana and Texas, are facing more significant storms and extreme swings in precipitation.
• Landlocked states won’t have to adapt to sea level rise, but some, including Appalachian states like Kentucky and West Virginia, have seen devastating flooding from rainstorms.
• In the Southwest, droughts are projected to increase in intensity, duration and frequency, with wide-reaching and hard-hitting implications on food and water.
• States in the north are grappling with an increase in tick-borne diseases, less snow and stronger rainstorms.
• Alaska is particularly vulnerable: Warming ocean waters, extreme heat events and other changes are affecting ecosystems and livelihoods across the state, with climate change contributing to the collapse of major fisheries.

THE COST

• The report finds climate shocks on the US economy are happening more frequently, evidenced by the new record this year for the number of extreme weather disasters costing at least $1 billion.
• US households are already feeling economic ripple effects as food, health care, insurance and shelter costs grow. Stronger storms wiping out crops or extreme heat killing livestock can send food prices soaring. In the Southwest, the report’s researchers found that hotter temperatures could lead to a 25% loss of physical work capacity for agricultural workers during summer months.
• The report highlights how climate change is making long-standing social and economic disparities worse, notably for older adults, people of color, Indigenous and LGBTQ communities. These communities "often lack access to adequate flood infrastructure, green spaces, safe housing, and other resources that help protect people from climate impacts," the report says.
• The report warns additional warming will have a compounding effect, likely leading to “more damage and greater economic losses compared to previous increments of warming.”

THE WORLD

• Across the country, efforts to adapt to climate change and reduce emissions have expanded since 2018, and US emissions have fallen since peaking in 2007. But the report says decreasing planet-warming pollution is not happening nearly fast enough to meet the nation’s targets, nor is it in line with the UN-sanctioned goal to limit global warming to 1.5°C.
• The US is not alone. A new UN assessment shows that countries around the globe are failing to meet their climate goals. Even if countries enact all of their current climate pledges, planet-heating pollution in 2030 will still be 9% higher than it was in 2010, according to the assessment.
• The world needs to decrease emissions by 45% by the end of this decade compared to 2010 to meet the target of limiting global warming to 1.5°C, the UN report finds. UN Secretary General António Guterres says the new numbers show that “the world remains massively off track” in its climate battle.

How worried are you about climate change? Do you know anyone dealing with its effects now? Tell us about it in the comments section below.

Other stories people are clicking on today:

March for Israel: Demonstrators from across the US filled the National Mall in Washington, DC today to denounce antisemitism. The “March for Israel” happened against the backdrop of heightened global tensions over the Israel-Hamas war, and as the US, like many other nations, sees an unprecedented surge in antisemitic acts. The march in DC got the Department of Homeland Security’s highest security designation, though a Capitol Police intel assessment obtained by CNN does not point to any specific or credible threat. Follow CNN’s live coverage of how the war continues to unfold.

Progress on prices: Annual US inflation cooled to 3.2% last month, according to the latest reading from the Labor Department's Consumer Price Index. The annual inflation rate is down from 3.7% a month earlier, so today's number reverses a two-month trend of inflation upticks. See how the numbers break down –  and how they may impact future Federal Reserve actions.

High-stakes summit: President Joe Biden is gearing up for his first in-person meeting with Chinese leader Xi Jinping in a year. Wednesday’s summit in California will mark just their second face-to-face meeting during Biden's term as president. Top objectives will be restoring military communication and curbing narcotics trafficking, according to US officials. Biden also hopes to persuade China to get Iran not to escalate any further in the Middle East.

Trust in science: Americans' trust in science and scientists has dropped since the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a new report by the Pew Research Center. 57% of American adults say science has a "mostly positive" effect on society, down 8 percentage points since November 2021 and 16 percentage points since just before the pandemic, the survey showed.

Rising survival rates: Lung cancer survival rates are improving in the US, according to the American Lung Association. More than 26% of patients who get lung cancer survive at least five years past their initial diagnosis, up from 21% in 2016. There are significant racial disparities, and lung cancer is still the leading cause of cancer death, but experts say increased screening can help improve survival rates. 

Baby back to the ‘90s: Chili’s is bringing back its “I want my baby back, baby back, baby back...ribs” jingle for a new advertising campaign. The earworm jingle blanketed airwaves in the ‘90s and was last used mid-aughts. Chili's hired Boyz II Men to sing an updated version of the jingle, an apparent nod to the popular misconception that the iconic R&B group originally recorded it.

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