Trucks crowd the Cross Bronx Expressway in the South Bronx, resulting in huge emissions from traffic in this area of New York, and the result is high rates of asthma, which puts residents in unsuitable health conditions, caused by severe weather, such as smoke resulting from forest fires. , which increases air pollution. The New York Times devoted a report in which it monitored the effects and repercussions of climate change, such as extreme heat and floods, on the neighborhoods of New York City. The effects of climate change are exacerbated when communities are poor and suffer from limited health care, in addition to language barriers. Michel Johnson, founding member of the non-profit organization South Bronx Unite, which specializes in environmental protection, points out that the problem lies in the decline in tree cover and the increase in pollutants resulting from projects and industries. To study the communities most affected and exposed by climate change, the “American Climate Vulnerability Index”, with the aim of drawing maps that collect general data from all parts of the United States of America. At the local level, the Office of Climate and Environmental Justice, affiliated with the Mayor of New York City, published last April an interactive map, which includes the most polluted areas in the city, especially the “Cross Bronx Expressway”, where more than 187,000 trucks daily spew pollution as a result of their emissions. The construction of the road in the middle of the last century displaced 60,000 residents and helped condemn much of the surrounding area to poverty, as well as high rates of asthma. Extreme heat is a major problem in the South Bronx, and is especially difficult for people with chronic illnesses. New Yorkers with asthma were at risk last summer when wildfires in neighboring Canada turned New York’s skies red. Those experiencing financial difficulties faced more challenges, as they visited hospital emergency rooms in record numbers, which is a foolproof way to seek treatment, regardless of income level or type of health insurance.
(Photo courtesy of the New York Times)
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