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Climate Change’s Unseen Victims: How Marginalized Communities Bear the Brunt

Monica Sanders
3 min readJul 2, 2024
Photo by John Middelkoop on Unsplash

Climate change is a global crisis that impacts everyone, but its effects are disproportionately felt by the most marginalized communities. These communities often lack the resources and infrastructure to adequately prepare for and recover from climate-related disasters. From extreme weather events to rising sea levels, the most vulnerable populations are at the highest risk. This post explores how climate threats harm marginalized communities and calls for urgent action to address these inequities.

The Disproportionate Impact of Climate Disasters

Marginalized communities, including low-income families, people of color, and indigenous populations, are more likely to live in areas prone to climate hazards. These communities often reside in low-lying coastal regions, flood-prone areas, or regions with poor air quality. For instance, the rapid intensification of Hurricane Beryl, which recently made landfall in the Caribbean, poses significant risks to these populations. As noted in my Forbes article on the economic impacts of the Atlantic hurricane season, hurricanes can devastate local economies, particularly in regions where infrastructure is already fragile.

Extreme Weather Events and Vulnerability

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Monica Sanders
Monica Sanders

Written by Monica Sanders

Founder, The Undivide Project (www.theundivideproject.org); Activist-Scholar; Professor@Georgetown; Senior Fellow, Tulane Disaster Resilience Leadership Academy

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