background image

Map predicts future chance of power outages from hurricanes

author image

By illuminem briefings

· 2 min read


illuminem summarizes for you the essential news of the day. Read the full piece on the New York Times or enjoy below:

🗞️ Driving the news:  A new analysis indicates that the increasing frequency and intensity of hurricanes due to climate change could significantly stress U.S. power grids, causing more frequent and devastating outages
• The study highlights regions like Puerto Rico and major cities including Boston, Houston, and New Orleans as particularly vulnerable

🔭 The context: Researchers from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the Electric Power Research Institute modeled nearly a million hurricanes under various climate scenarios to predict future impacts on power grids
• Their findings show stronger, wetter storms will push further inland, affecting more areas and causing substantial infrastructure damage

🌍 Why it matters for the planet: Climate-driven hurricanes threaten to exacerbate power outages, impacting access to essential services like healthcare and heating/cooling systems, especially in socio-economically vulnerable regions
• This underscores the urgent need for resilient infrastructure to withstand increasing climate stress

⏭️ What's next: Energy companies are urged to incorporate climate considerations into their planning to enhance grid resilience
• The analysis suggests that without adaptation measures, such as burying power lines and integrating renewable energy sources, outages will become more frequent and severe

💬 One quote: "It’s a wake-up call that we need to be addressing our power system and making it much more reliable and much more resilient to climate related stresses," said Kristina Dahl, a principal climate scientist for the Union of Concerned Scientists

📈 One stat: The average person in cities like Miami could see a 119% increase in power outage events per decade due to future hurricanes

Click for more news covering the latest on power & utilities and climate change

Did you enjoy this illuminem voice? Support us by sharing this article!
author photo

About the author

illuminem's editorial team - providing you with concise summaries of the most important sustainability news of the day.

Follow us on Linkedin, Twitter​ & Instagram

Other illuminem Voices


Related Posts


You cannot miss it!

Weekly. Free. Your Top 10 Sustainability & Energy Posts.

You can unsubscribe at any time (read our privacy policy)