Cost of Climate Change in Philly

By: Casey, Ben, Marshall, Ryan

What is Climate Change?

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. But since the 1800s, human activities have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas.

Main Drivers:

  • Generating Power
  • Manufacturing Good
  • Cutting Down Forest
  • Using Transportation
  • Producing Food
  • Powering Buildings
  • Consuming to Much

Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the suns heat and raising temperatures.

How is Climate Change Already Affecting Us?

The impact of climate change on different sectors of society are interrelated. Some of the consequences of climate change now include, among other:

  • Intense Droughts
  • Water Scarcity
  • Severe Fires
  • Rising Sea Levels
  • Flooding
  • Melting Polar Ice
  • Catastrophic Storms
  • Declining Biodiversity

How is it Impacting Philadelphia?

Temperatures are Rising

Greenhouse gas concentrations are at their highest levels in 2 million years And emissions continue to rise. As a result, the Earth is now about 1.1°C warmer than it was in the late 1800s. The last decade (2011-2020) was the warmest on record.

Many people think climate change mainly means warmer temperatures. But temperature rise is only the beginning of the story. Because the Earth is a system, where everything is connected, changes in one area can influence changes in all others.

How does rising temperature Effect sea level?

A warming climate can cause seawater to expand and ice over land to melt, both of which can cause a rise in sea level.

Sea level can rise by two different mechanisms with respect to climate change. First, as the oceans warm due to an increasing global temperature, seawater expands—taking up more space in the ocean basin and causing a rise in water level. The second mechanism is the melting of ice over land, which then adds water to the ocean.

Toggle Floodplains


What do we expect?

Philadelphia area waters could rise 19 inches by 2050, and 4 feet or more by 2100, putting nearly 2,000 homes and 3,200 people in Philadelphia at risk.

Today, Pennsylvania has 7,000 people at risk of coastal flooding. By 2050, an additional 6,000 people are projected to be at risk due to sea level rise.

Pennsylvania has the smallest proportion of its total area currently in the 100-year coastal floodplain. By 2050, the area is projected to double from 10 to more than 20 square miles.