www.timeout.com /usa/news/these-u-s-cities-are-most-at-risk-for-climate-change-100224

Cushman & Wakefield Report Identifies U.S. Cities At Risk With Climate Change

Erika Mailman 2-3 minutes 10/2/2024

People who live in cities by the coast naturally worry about flooding and rising seawater as climate change warms waters. But as the recent Asheville flooding shows us, even cities far from the coast can experience disasters thanks to climate change. A Cushman & Wakefield report highlights eight kinds of hazard exposures in 100 global cities and how that is forecast to change for the worse in the future. There are 30 U.S. cities on the list.

The hazard types are wind, flood, precipitation, hail, heat, cold, wildfire and drought. The worldwide cities are placed into four groups: those with low exposure that will improve over time (no cities are in that group), with low exposure that will worsen over time (roughly half), with high exposure that will improve (no cities) and high exposure that will worsen (again, roughly half).

The U.S. cities that are currently at low exposure overall that will worsen are, in alphabetical order:

Birmingham
Charlotte
Cincinnati
Detroit
Los Angeles
Philadelphia
Pittsburgh
Portland
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
St. Louis

The U.S. cities that are currently at high exposure overall that will worsen are, in alphabetical order:

For each subcategory of hazard, here are the most at-risk U.S. cities:

Wind: Miami
Flood: Miami
Precipitation: Houston and Miami
Hail: Dallas
Heat: Phoenix
Cold: Denver
Wildfire: Phoenix
Drought: Chicago and Denver

But perhaps the most important list is one that ranks the U.S. cities overall in order of risk:

1. Miami

2. Orlando

3. Houston

4. Jacksonville

5. Tampa

6. Austin

7. San Antonio

8. Dallas

9. Boston

10. Phoenix

11. Chicago

12. New York

13. Washington, D.C.

14. Las Vegas

15. Kansas City

16. Denver

17. Atlanta

18. Philadelphia

19. Los Angeles

20. Charlotte

21. Indianapolis

22. Nashville

23. Cincinnati

24. St. Louis

25. Pittsburgh

26. Portland

27. San Francisco

28. Detroit

29. Seattle

30. San Diego