Climate change shapes where and how we live. That's why WYSO and NPR are dedicating a week to stories about solutions for building and living on a hotter planet.
Extreme heat can stress people's bodies, lead to heat-related illness, and even increase the risk of death.
The federal government has projections to help understand extreme heat and other climate-related hazards that could occur in our location, now and in the future.
The risk of extreme heat in the Dayton region could climb much faster if fossil fuel emissions continue to rise, according to the data.
One projection — the lower emissions scenario — is a possible future in which humans drastically reduce their use of fossil fuels, reducing global emissions of heat trapping gasses to zero by 2040.
Another projection — the higher emissions scenario — is a possible future in which humans continue increasing emissions of heat trapping gases through 2100.
These projections are part of the federal government's Climate Mapping for Resilience and Adaptation, and they aim to help people assess their local exposure to climate-related hazards.
This data is designed to work with the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit, so people can explore their community's climate risk, and then select options to address it.
This article is published as part of Climate Solutions Week at WYSO. Our climate is changing and so are the ways we choose to live with it. For a whole week, WYSO and NPR are exploring how to slow the pace of climate change and rethink our ideas of home. We’ll focus on solutions, from planting trees to reducing electricity use to disaster-proofing your house.
