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Anoka County2025 Hazard Mitigation Planz.umn.edu/AnokaHMP
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<br />3.3.1Climate Change Impacts and Resilience Planning
<br />The NCA5 states that even if the world decarbonizes rapidly, the Nation will continue to face climate
<br />impacts and risks. Adequately and equitably addressing these risks involves longer-term inclusive
<br />planning, investments in transformative adaptation, and mitigation approaches that consider equity
<br />and justice. In the Midwest, rising temperatures, extreme precipitation, drought, and other climate-
<br />related events are impacting agriculture, ecosystems, cultural practices, health, infrastructure, and
<br />waterways. Communities, Indigenous Peoples, governments, and businesses are embracing
<br />adaptation approaches that include climate-smart agriculture, improved landscape management,
<br />innovative green infrastructure financing, and collaborative decision-making.
<br />NCA5 includes these key messages for the Midwest region (Chapter 24: Midwest):
<br />Changes in precipitation extremes, timing of snowmelt, and early-spring rainfall are expected
<br />to pose greater challenges for crop and animal agriculture, including increased pest and
<br />disease transmission, muddier pastures, and further degradation of water quality. Climate-
<br />smart agriculture and other adaptation techniques provide a potential path toward
<br />environmental and economic sustainability.
<br />Increasing incidence of flooding and drought is expected to further alter aquatic ecosystems,
<br />while terrestrial ecosystems are being reshaped by rising temperatures and decreasing snow
<br />and ice cover. In response, communities are adapting their cultural practices and the ways
<br />they manage the landscape, preserving and protecting ecosystems and the services they
<br />provide.
<br />Climate change has wide-ranging effects on lives and livelihoods. Mitigation and adaptation
<br />strategies, such as expanded use of green infrastructure, heat-health early warning systems,
<br />and improved stormwater management systems, when developed in collaboration with
<br />affected communities, have the potential to improve individual and community health.
<br />Increases in temperatures and extreme precipitation events are already challenging aging
<br />infrastructure and are expected to impair surface transportation, water navigation, and the
<br />electrical grid. Shifts in the timing and intensity of rainfall are expected to disrupt
<br />transportation along major rivers and increase chronic flooding. Green infrastructure and
<br />public and private investments may mitigate losses, provide relief from heat, and offer other
<br />ways to adapt the built environment to a changing climate.
<br />Climate-related changes to water quantity and quality are increasing the risks to ecosystem
<br />health, adequate food production, surface water and groundwater uses, and recreation (high
<br />confidence). Projected increases in droughts, floods, and runoff events across the Mississippi
<br />River basin and the Great Lakes will adversely impact ecosystems through increased erosion,
<br />harmful algal blooms, and expansion of invasive species.
<br />Key messages from the NCA5 are indicated in green throughout this document.
<br />3.3.2 Health Impacts of Climate Change in Minnesota
<br />Climate change already impacts our health, and these impacts are expected to worsen in the years
<br />ahead. The risks are especially high for Minnesotans who are less able to cope due to their age,
<br />income, housing insecurity, preexisting health conditions, and more.
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<br />Section 3 16 Hazards
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