Communities of color at risk from climate-related health hazards

Communities of color more at risk from climate change.

By Susan Rupe

Climate change is bringing a host of health risks, including extreme heat, poor air quality, increased risk of vector-borne disease, and more frequent and more devastating weather events such as hurricanes and floods.

But not all populations are affected equally by the climate-related health risks. A session at the American Academy of Actuaries annual meeting broke down some of those risks and how they particularly affect communities of color.

Communities of color already faced longstanding disparities in health and health care. But the COVID-19 pandemic increased awareness of those disparities while climate change is making them worse, said Latoya Hill, senior policy analyst with KFF’s Racial Equity and Health Policy Program.

Although climate change poses health risks for everyone, the factors that drive health disparity increase those risks for marginalized and high-need groups, Hill said. She pointed out that the increased climate-related health risks for people of color are driven by underlying policies, systems and structures that include:

Geography or neighborhood. Residential segregation puts Black people at increased exposure to extreme heat and poor air quality. Historic land dispossession relegated many American Indian and Alaska Native people to areas disproportionately exposed to extreme heat, wildfires and low precipitation. U.S. colonial and military activity has created legacies of environmental pollution in U.S. territories, particularly Pacific Island communities.
Lower-wage jobs. People of color are more likely than white people to be employed in lower-wage jobs. Hispanics and immigrants are disproportionately employed in occupations that increase risk of heat-related illness and pesticide exposure.
Resources and supports. People with limited English proficiency may have less access to information during extreme weather events. People with low socioeconomic status have less ability to prepare for or recover from extreme climate events. Noncitizens have more limited access to support during emergencies and may be fearful of accessing help that they are eligible to receive.

Natural disasters impact more than physical health, Hill said, and gave hurricanes as an example.

“They have an impact on emotional and mental health as well,” she said. “Many low-income survivors of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Maria suffered emotional trauma.”

Katrina devastated predominantly Black sections of New Orleans, and Maria destroyed much of Puerto Rico. Hill cited those two hurricanes and their aftermaths to illustrate the uneven burden of climate change on communities of color.

About one-third of the Black and low-income Katrina survivors who were evacuated to Houston reported they did not have the prescription medications they needed. Hurricane Maria survivors reported they had trouble accessing and storing insulin in the storm’s aftermath.

“As frequency and intensity of these climate events increase over time, we will see the risks to people of color exacerbated,” Hill said.

She said addressing the disparate impacts of climate change as well as COVID-19 is important to prevent against further widening of health disparities.

Climate: What Washington is doing

The recently passed Inflation Reduction Act makes “historic investments in climate action,” said Aileen Nowlan of the Environmental Defense Fund.

The bill includes:

A $369 billion package to catalyze the adoption of clean energy.
Tax credits to make electric vehicles more affordable.
Incentives for companies to build solar panels, wind turbines and batteries.
A program to reduce methane pollution.

Nowlan pointed to research showing that children in low-income urban areas were more likely to have asthma as a result of increased exposure to air pollution in their communities. She called for investing more resources in communities where low-income residents and people of color are at risk from traffic pollution.

Susan Rupe is managing editor for InsuranceNewsNet. She formerly served as communications director for an insurance agents' association and was an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Contact her at [email protected]. Follow her on Twitter @INNsusan.