Poor, minority residents in California face most health risks with climate change

Bernice Yeung in California Watch: Poor, urban and minority residents are most at risk for health problems linked to climate change, according to a new California Department of Public Health analysis of Los Angeles and Fresno counties.

The department examined social and environmental factors ranging from the rising sea level to public transportation access and found that African Americans and Latinos living in these counties are more likely to be exposed to health and safety risks related to poor air quality, heat waves, flooding and wildfires stemming from climate change.

“Clearly, climate change risks are not equal across the state or within individual counties,” according to the report .... “Identifying communities at greatest risk is a necessary step in efficiently employing limited resources to protect public health.”

...The study also found that there was a notable economic disparity between families living in the areas most vulnerable to climate change and those who didn't – the more at-risk families earned between 40 and 55 percent less each year than the least vulnerable families. Residents living downtown or in urban areas were also more vulnerable, the study said.

A western portion of Fresno County near Mendota also was found to be especially susceptible to climate change-related safety and health problems. Public health experts say these disparities in climate-related health risks can partially be explained by living conditions and a poor baseline status of health....

Los Angeles in heavy smog, 1973, US Environmental Protection Agency