What you need to know about climate change

As temperatures and sea levels rise, places like Toledo (Ohio), Boise (Idaho) and Burlington (Vermont) may emerge as safer havens for migrating older Americans. The northern Minnesota city

of Duluth has even been referred to, somewhat in jest, as America's “most climate-proof city.” "Inland U.S. cities at higher latitudes and elevation are better insulated from

extreme heat and coastal flooding,” says Jesse M. Keenan, an associate professor of real estate at Tulane University and an expert on climate adaptation and design. He points to “signs of

retiree mini-booms in towns throughout the Appalachian and Blue Ridge mountains,” where there are lower environmental risks than in previous coastal hot spots, as well as lower costs of

living. WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR HOME SHOP ASSERTIVELY FOR INSURANCE. Consider a policy with higher deductibles to lower your premiums. Updating your roof can also reduce your insurance

rates. PROTECT YOUR HOME. Consider thicker insulation, a more efficient air-conditioning system and energy-efficient windows. “The earlier you do things, the more calmly you can do them, and

the cheaper it's going to be,” says Carlos Martín, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute's Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy Center. “You don't want it getting to

the point where it's a crisis.” If you have a medical condition that requires life-support equipment or heating and cooling needs, your utility company may provide a discounted rate for

air-conditioning as a medical necessity. DISCOURAGE TICKS AND MOSQUITOES. The CDC recommends repellents with DEET, picaridin, IR3535, oil of lemon eucalyptus, paramenthane-3,8-diol, or

2-undecanone. For extra tick protection, try permethrin-treated socks, pants, shirts and hats. WHAT YOU CAN DO FOR YOUR HEALTH TAKE HEAT WARNINGS SERIOUSLY. Adults living in northern states

and at higher altitudes, as well as older adults in general, underestimate the real risks of extreme heat, a 2019 Utah State University study found. Pay close attention to the heat index —

which factors in relative humidity. HEED THE AIR-QUALITY AND OZONE WARNINGS IN WEATHER REPORTS. You can also find air-quality info for your ZIP code at airnow.gov. Or try the American Lung

Association's State of the Air site. Remember that air that appears “clean” can be polluted — even miles away from highways and factories. BE AWARE OF NEW HAY FEVER SYMPTOMS.

Respiratory allergies are on the rise among adults, and pollen surges can turn minor hay fever into more severe allergies, the World Allergy Organization warns. If you're suffering your

first season of watery eyes and a stuffed-up nose, it's best to visit a doctor for a diagnosis rather than just buying pills off the shelf. WHAT YOU CAN DO TO HELP THE EARTH PARK THE

CAR. Reducing by half the number of car trips under a mile could save 2 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year. “Walking more isn't just good for the planet, it's

good for your health,” says Jonathan Patz, M.D., director of the Global Health Institute at the University of Wisconsin. UNPLUG ELECTRICITY VAMPIRES. Many electronics and appliances —

including stereo components, phone chargers, coffee makers and charging stations for electric toothbrushes — draw power even when turned off. These “always on” devices eat up 23 percent of

U.S. home power, says the Natural Resources Defense Council. Unplug what you aren't using. For TVs and computers, use a power strip with an on-off switch. EAT LESS MEAT. In the U.S.,

livestock cattle are responsible for 3.9 percent of domestic greenhouse gas emissions, the EPA says. Meat eaters who cut back to three servings per week could reduce their greenhouse gas

footprint by over 500 pounds annually — the equivalent of driving 600 miles, researchers say. _Forbes_ now factors climate risk into its annual roundup of 25 retirement dream towns. “When

you consider the wildfires, drought and mudslides in California, the 100-plus-degree days in Arizona, and hurricanes and flood surges in Florida, you start to think differently about where

you want to enjoy your carefree years,” says _Forbes_ contributor William P. Barrett. That's one big reason Fargo, North Dakota, is the only place that has made the Best Places to

Retire list for all 10 years the magazine has compiled it. “In picking places for retirement, it's important to think about things like overall cost of living, access to medical care,

walkability and crime rates,” Barrett says. “But you also want to go outside without broiling or constantly worrying about evacuating to higher ground.” RISK: Chronic weather catastrophes

IMPACT: Falling home values In real estate circles, they're calling it the coastal housing crisis, brought on by rising seas and nuisance flooding. With ocean levels predicted to

increase in the U.S. by as much as 2 feet by 2045 and as much as 6 feet by 2100, it might be time to rethink that beach house. The threat is already taking a toll on prices in high-risk

parts of Florida, even as the broader real estate market sees gains and as rich tech bros flock to Miami. “Housing sales in the most exposed coastal areas of Florida quietly began falling in

2013, and more recently, home prices started dropping — all directly related to climate changes,” says Benjamin Keys, a professor of real estate and finance at the University of

Pennsylvania's Wharton School. His 2020 research paper on 1.4 million real estate transactions found that the number of home sales dropped by 16 to 20 percent between 2013 and 2018 in

Florida communities closest to the water. “This is a case where water can literally erode the value of your most precious investment,” Keys says. In other parts of the U.S., rising sea

levels sank home values in 18 states, from Maine to Texas, by $15.9 billion between 2005 and 2017, according to research released by the nonprofit First Street Foundation. That included

81,900 homes in coastal North Carolina — picture the hurricane- and flood-ravaged Outer Banks — that lost $582 million in value. Tidal flooding along the Mississippi Gulf Coast, including

the devastation of Hurricane Katrina, eroded around $264 million in home values over that same 12-year period. As with water, so it is with fire. Following catastrophic blazes in 2018 that

severely damaged the Northern California town of Paradise, home values dropped 20.5 percent between October 2019 and October 2020, according to the real estate website Redfin. Interestingly,

in California, fires can also stoke the market, as burned-out buyers scramble to find new homes nearby. Sales in fire-ravaged Napa County were up 40 percent in the third quarter of 2020

over the same time period the previous year, and up more than 50 percent in that same period after fires in Sonoma County. If you won't give up that dream of living on the ocean in your

retirement years, S. Jeffress Williams, a senior scientist emeritus with the USGS Woods Hole Coastal and Marine Science Center in Massachusetts, offers this simple advice: “Don't buy —

rent." FROM THE NEW YORK TIMES © 2020 THE NEW YORK TIMES COMPANY (SOURCE: FOUR TWENTY SEVEN) WHAT'S THE CLIMATE RISK WHERE YOU LIVE? Top climate risks in the U.S. by county —

Wildfires, water stress, extreme heat, hurricanes, extreme rainfall, and sea level rise. No matter where you are in the U.S., you likely face some type of extreme weather. It's well

known that some Western states are prone to wildfires, and areas along the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico are targets for hurricanes. But much of the rest of the country is

experiencing other phenomena, according to Four Twenty Seven, a climate research group affiliated with Moody's financial services company. “Water stress” reflects an increasing demand

for water in areas that can face drought-like conditions. RISK: More extreme weather IMPACT: More fortified houses About 3 out of 4 adults 50 and older want to stay in their residence as

long as possible, according to a 2018 AARP survey. But that may require significant upgrades as heat waves, floods and wildfires impact our homes. Among potential concerns: mold in basements

and on floors, roof damage from high winds and loss of power from storms, says Carlos Martín, a senior fellow at the Urban Institute's Metropolitan Housing and Communities Policy

Center. This is forcing many homeowners to make their structures more climate-resilient. For example, people who live near areas prone to wildfires may need to upgrade their air-filtration

systems. If you're in a flood zone, consider moving utility equipment out of the basement to a spot above ground. And your air-conditioning unit may need to be replaced with a more

efficient model that can cool your home better. In some places, new construction or even renovations focus on elevating homes and making them stronger and more resistant to wind and water.

Many people are already taking action; spending on backup electrical generators rose 36 percent between 2016 and 2019, to some $6 billion a year, The _Wall Street Journal _reported. And

metal roofs — considered best able to withstand high winds — are in demand. The Metal Roofing Alliance reported that 8 percent of all newly built homes in 2019 were outfitted with metal

roofs, double the market share of 2018. The industry attributes this interest primarily to more extreme weather. Residents of New York's Lower East Side neighborhood escape the heat in

one of the city's designated cooling centers. AP Photo/David Goldman YOUR HEALTH RISK: Seasonal changes IMPACT: More allergies and bug bites Think your plants are blooming earlier?

You're not imagining things. One of the ways the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) tracks climate change is by cataloging the spring blooms of honeysuckle and lilacs across the

country. The evidence shows that “earlier dates appear prevalent in the last few decades." Earlier blooms and grass growth have two measurable health effects. The first is more pollen

in the air; pollen seasons in the U.S. are, on average, 20 days longer now than in 1990 — and the air is filled with 21 percent more pollen, according to a University of Utah study published

in February in the _Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences_. In counties where the pollen season was trending earlier (from 2002 to 2013), hay fever rates were 14 percent higher

than in counties where spring arrived in the normal range, according to a 2019 University of Maryland study. A second factor is the rise of dangerous bug bites. Cases of diseases carried by

ticks, mosquitoes and fleas tripled in the United States between 2004 and 2016, according to a report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The CDC reports that the rate

of Lyme disease alone doubled between 1991 and 2014, driven at least in part by climate change; disease-carrying deer ticks are most active in warmer temperatures — and their American

habitat range is expanding. RISK: Hotter climate IMPACT: Heat-related ailments Yes, Los Angeles is known for its dry heat. But in September 2020, L.A. County recorded its highest temperature

on record — 121 degrees — a few weeks after California's Death Valley reached what might be the highest temperature ever recorded on Earth: 130 degrees. In such conditions, going

outside for mere minutes is treacherous for anyone, but especially for older people. "As we age, our physiological responses to hot temperatures — such as sweating, releasing heat

through dilated blood vessels at the surface of the skin, and thirst — diminish,” says Soko Setoguchi, M.D., professor of medicine and epidemiology at Rutgers University's Robert Wood

Johnson Medical School and its School of Public Health. Heat-related illnesses and hospitalizations are increasing. Says the EPA, which surveys health data as an indicator of climate change:

“Relatively high hospitalization rates in the Southeast and Midwest suggest a connection between hotter and more humid summers and increased rates of heat-related illness, compared with

other regions.” Hospital admissions and emergency room visits for kidney failure, urinary tract infections and other health problems have also increased for older adults during heat waves.

It appears that our medicines don't help the situation. In a 2020 study of more than 375,000 older adults with chronic health conditions, Setoguchi found that drugs such as loop

diuretics, ACE inhibitors/angiotensin II receptor blockers, and antipsychotics boosted the odds of hospitalization for heat-related problems by up to 33 percent.