The region will face increasingly frequent flooding, steep economic losses, worse traffic and serious risks to human health because of climate change, according to a new national report.
The National Climate Assessment, which is mandated by Congress and was released by President Donald Trump’s administration on Friday, projects a dire forecast for the United States, much of it backed by prior research.
But the Southeast region, which covers the area from Louisiana to Virginia, will be hit especially hard. Many of the biggest impacts come from sea level rise, which is projected to increase by 1 to 4 feet on average by the end of the century because of global warming. It has already affected low-lying areas on the coast, like vast swaths of Hampton Roads.