Climate Vulnerability Index: New tool shows which cities are most likely to be impacted by climate change

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (WKRN) — The Climate Vulnerability Index (CVI) is a new tool that shows communities where they are most vulnerable to problems as the climate continues to change.

The interactive map pulls data from 184 sets and ranks over 70,000 census tracts to find out which cities are the most likely to be impacted by baseline and climate vulnerabilities. These problems are broken down into two themes: baseline vulnerabilities and climate change impacts.

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The baseline is broken down into four categories which include health, environment, social and economic, and infrastructure. The vulnerability score is unique to each community because some may score higher in certain categories and lower in others but still have similar scores to communities that have the opposite problem areas.

All of these factors tie into the vulnerability score because it shows which communities can be the most resilient after any disaster.

According to Grace Tee Lewis, a Senior Health Scientist at the Environmental Defense Fund, Tennessee and Kentucky rank particularly high with four of the top twenty-five counties across the U.S.

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The purpose of these scores is to get people in power to notice which communities may need more help as time goes on. This could be in the form of funding or simply better community outreach programs.

Warren County has the highest vulnerability across the state while Williamson County has the best score across Tennessee.

To find out more or use the map click here.

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