Climate Risks in Massachusetts

Massachusetts

The changing climate poses many risks for people, the environment and the economy. This measure aims to capture populations that are disproportionately impacted by issues stemming from the following climate-related events:

• Agricultural losses from natural hazards.
• Building value losses from natural hazards.
• Deaths from natural hazards.
• Projected property flood risk.
• Projected wildfire exposure.

The fourteen types of natural hazards captured in this measure are avalanches, coastal flooding, cold waves, droughts, hail, heat waves, hurricanes, ice storms, landslides, riverine flooding, strong winds, tornadoes, wildfires and winter weather, all of which can lead to loss of property and life.

The agricultural sector is sensitive to weather and climate. Climate change affects crops and livestock; changes in temperature and rainfall can alter the timing of growing seasons, and the increasing frequency of heavy precipitation can cause soil erosion and deplete nutrients. 

Severe weather events add additional stress to America’s already struggling infrastructure system — for example, extreme precipitation can cause dam failures and bridge washouts. The threat of climate change to infrastructure varies by region but includes high tide flooding in coastal regions and wildfires in the West.

Climate change negatively impacts Americans' health, and it is projected to worsen. Extreme weather events can increase people's risk of heat-related illness and infectious diseases; they can also negatively impact mental well-being. There were more than 600 weather fatalities in the United States in 2023.

Rising temperatures and prolonged droughts driven by climate change have increased the risk of wildfires in the western U.S. over the past few decades. In addition to damage from the fires themselves, widespread wildfire smoke is associated with many negative health effects, including coughing, wheezing, reduced lung function, impaired cognitive function, preterm birth and heart failure. 

As storms and floods continue to increase in severity and frequency, more areas will be at risk of flooding and the resulting damage. A 2022 study estimated that flood losses cost the U.S. $32.1 billion annually and are projected to rise to $40.6 billion by 2050.

A recent report by Deloitte Economics Institute found that over the last 50 years, climate change has cost the United States $1.4 trillion in losses due to weather, climate and water hazards, and failing to take sufficient action could cost the U.S. economy another $14.5 trillion over the next 50 years.

Certain vulnerable populations are disproportionately affected by climate change, including pregnant women, children, older adults, people with disabilities, people living in poverty and people of color. 

Black, Hispanic and Latino individuals in the U.S. face higher exposure to the harmful effects of climate change due to where many of them live and work. Low-income and racial/ethnic minority populations are more likely to live in areas with the highest projected increases in temperature-related mortality (deaths from extreme heat or cold weather) due to climate change effects.

Studies have revealed racial health disparities linked to climate change in areas such as mortality, respiratory disease, cardiovascular disease, mental health and heat-related illness. Researchers anticipate that climate change will continue to increase existing racial health disparities.

Tackling climate change and its risks requires a two-pronged approach: mitigation and adaptation. Mitigation involves reducing greenhouse gas emissions to slow climate change, while adaptation involves adjusting to its current and future realities.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) lists several strategies to reduce the impact of climate change on the built environment, such as incorporating green infrastructure, as well as strategies to reduce its impact on agriculture. Climate-smart farming practices include planting cover crops, reducing runoff and boosting crop resistance. 

Several states have made efforts to reduce the impact of climate change by implementing cap-and-trade programs, promoting reliance on renewable energy sources for electricity and enacting clean vehicle policies. Adopting new technologies like wind power, solar power or biofuels, developing chemical means for removing carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere and changing land use to store CO2 in plants, trees and soils can help reduce greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The EPA has an interactive web tool that allows users to build climate change adaptation plans tailored to their region and specific risks. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has published disaster planning toolkits and other behavioral health plans for vulnerable populations and communities with limited access to resources. In addition, the U.S. Climate Resilience Toolkit maintains a database of more than 1,000 options for adapting to climate change, tailored to different areas, assets and natural hazards.

Healthy People 2030 has several objectives to promote healthier environments, including:

• Reducing diseases and deaths related to heat.
• Reducing the number of days people are exposed to unhealthy air. 
• Reducing health and environmental risks from hazardous sites.
• Reducing the amount of toxic pollutants released into the environment.

As of 2025, 24 states and the District of Columbia have set specific greenhouse gas emission targets, and 33 states have a plan in place or are currently updating it to meet climate-related goals.

2025 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure: A Comprehensive Assessment of America’s Infrastructure. American Society of Civil Engineers, 2025. https://infrastructurereportcard.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Full-Report-2025-Natl-IRC-WEB.pdf.

Berberian, Alique G., David J. X. Gonzalez, and Lara J. Cushing. “Racial Disparities in Climate Change-Related Health Effects in the United States.” Current Environmental Health Reports 9, no. 3 (May 28, 2022): 451–64. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-022-00360-w.

EPA. Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in the United States: A Focus on Six Impacts. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, September 2021. https://www.epa.gov/cira/social-vulnerability-report.

Marvel, Kate, Wenying Su, Roberto Delgado, Sarah Aarons, Abhishek Chatterjee, Margaret E. Garcia, Zeke Hausfather, et al. “Chapter 2: Climate Trends.” In Fifth National Climate Assessment, edited by Allison R. Crimmins, Christopher W. Avery, David R. Easterling, Kenneth E. Kunkel, Brooke C. Stewart, and Thomas K. Maycock. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Global Change Research Program, 2023. https://toolkit.climate.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/NCA5_Ch2_Climate-Trends.pdf.

Philip, Pradeep, Claire Ibrahim, and Cedric Hodges. The Turning Point: A New Economic Climate in the United States. Deloitte Economics Institute, January 2022. https://www2.deloitte.com/content/dam/Deloitte/us/Documents/about-deloitte/us-the-turning-point-a-new-economic-climate-in-the-united-states-january-2022.pdf.

Wasley, Emily, Travis A. Dahl, Caitlin F. Simpson, Laura West Fischer, Jennifer F. Helgeson, Melissa A. Kenney, Adam Parris, A. R. Siders, Eric Tate, and Nicola Ulibarri. “Chapter 31: Adaptation.” In Fifth National Climate Assessment, edited by Allison R. Crimmins, Christopher W. Avery, David R. Easterling, Kenneth E. Kunkel, Brooke C. Stewart, and Thomas K. Maycock. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Global Change Research Program, 2023. https://toolkit.climate.gov/sites/default/files/2025-07/NCA5_Ch31_Adaptation.pdf.

Wing, Oliver E. J., William Lehman, Paul D. Bates, Christopher C. Sampson, Niall Quinn, Andrew M. Smith, Jeffrey C. Neal, Jeremy R. Porter, and Carolyn Kousky. “Inequitable Patterns of US Flood Risk in the Anthropocene.” Nature Climate Change 12, no. 2 (February 2022): 156–62. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41558-021-01265-6.