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<br /> <br />2021 Multijurisdictional Local Hazard Mitigation Plan <br /> <br />middle of this century. A 100-year coastal food, on top of this level of sea-level rise, would almost double <br />the costs. <br />The assessment’s 2019 San Francisco Bay Area Report outlines the following climate change impact concerns for <br />San Mateo County and its surrounding region: <br /> Even with substantial global efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, the Bay Area will likely see a <br />significant temperature increase by mid-century <br /> Precipitation in the Bay Area will continue to exhibit high year-to-year variability with very wet and very <br />dry years. The Bay Area’s largest winter storms will likely become more intense, and potentially more <br />damaging, in the coming decades. <br /> Future increases in temperature, regardless of whether total precipitation goes up or down, will likely <br />cause longer and deeper California droughts, posing major problems for water supplies, natural <br />ecosystems, and agriculture. <br /> Even with high levels of emissions reductions, research suggests that at least 6 feet of sea level rise is <br />inevitable over the next several centuries due to the lag of sea level rise in response to increasing global <br />temperatures. <br /> Bay Area public health is threatened by a number of climate-related changes, including more extreme <br />heat events, increased air pollution from ozone formation and wildfires, longer and more frequent <br />droughts, and flooding from sea level rise and high-intensity rain events. <br /> High levels of socioeconomic inequity in the Bay Area create large differences in the ability of <br />individuals to prepare for and recover from heat waves, foods, and wildfires. Financial resources as well <br />as improved social structures are important to enhance community resilience and reduce these disparities. <br /> Heat waves pose increased health risks due to urban heat islands and lack of local experience and cooling <br />infrastructure (air conditioning) in bayside cities. These risks are compounded for low-income <br />communities. <br /> The future climate of the Bay Area will become less suitable for evergreen forests—redwoods and <br />Douglas fir—and more favorable for heat-adapted vegetation such as chaparral shrub land. <br /> The most threatening effect of climate change to Bay Area wildlife is the impact of rising sea levels on <br />wetlands because of the limited potential for wetlands to move inland and become established. At the <br />same time, less rainfall, more summer heat, and increased drought will hurt amphibians and reptiles, <br />while heat and wildfires may negatively affect upland birds, mammals, amphibians, and reptiles. <br /> Future land use decisions will significantly influence the Bay Area’s efforts to address climate change, <br />affecting building and transportation energy, urban water demand, and wildfire ignitions. For example, <br />the critical lack of affordable housing in the core of the region is forcing households further south, north, <br />and inland, with negative consequences on energy and the environment. <br />Cal-Adapt, a publicly available resource that offers information on how climate change might affect local <br />communities, provides visualization tools that present the most current data available whenever possible. The <br />Local Climate Change Snapshot tool allows the Cal-Adapt data to be customized by location. The output report <br />includes data reflecting modeled historical data, observed data, medium emissions data (RCP 4.5), and high <br />emissions data (RCP 8.5). Climate change projections present valuable information to help guide decision-making <br />for possible future conditions. The following sections summarize information presented by Cal-Adapt for San <br />Mateo’s local climate snapshot. <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />17-6