Lynchburg Community Climate Resilience

Collaboration to assess and address climate risks and resilience in our community

Header image of the Blue Ridge mountains photo by K. Warren

Climate Risks in Lynchburg, VA

Climate change has affected our environment, economy, and communities. In 2017, the Fourth National Climate Assessment was released; two summer research students in 2018 reviewed the document and created this chart that identified the impacts of climate change in central Virginia. Over the past decades, the average temperature in Virginia has risen and will continue rise in the future. The amount of precipitation we will receive will also increase, affecting our agriculture, water quality, and infrastructure. In response to climate change and its effects, cities and other urban areas have developed climate resilient strategies to recover and adapt to the changes in their environment.

Table compiled based on data from the 4th National Climate Assessment (https://science2017.globalchange.gov/).

Virginia Heat Watch:
A Commonwealth-Wide Collaboration for Heat Mapping

Twelve institutions in the Virginia Foundation of College are collaborating together on “Virginia Heat Watch”, a project to map and analyze heat islands and vulnerabilities in our communities. We used the procedure and equipment developed by CAPA Strategies to measure temperature throughout our city during a high heat event on July 15, 2021 with volunteers contributing to data collection. Previous heat mapping studies in other cities have demonstrated that historically redlined areas in cities are most vulnerable. Our data in Lynchburg is also revealing that vulnerabilities to heat are disproportionate throughout our city. Local stakeholders are working with professors and students at Randolph College, Sweet Briar College, and the University of Lynchburg to develop equitable strategies to address these risks in our community. The results from this heat mapping campaign will help us develop equitable community-based strategies to address climate vulnerabilities and health risk from climate change.