🌍 What to Expect from Climate Change in 2025

As we step into 2025, it’s clear that climate change is more than an abstract issue It’s shaping our world in real and urgent ways. The Kenneth Fire in Los Angeles is a stark reminder of how extreme conditions, fueled by climate change, can turn small sparks into massive disasters. Understanding what lies ahead in climate policy, public health, and extreme weather risks is critical as these issues become more interconnected.

🌦️ Climate Change in 2025: Key Trends to Watch

• Hydroclimate Whiplash: California is experiencing more frequent and intense swings between wet and dry weather. These conditions fuel vegetation growth during wet periods, which then becomes dangerously dry and flammable during droughts. Climate change has made these swings more severe, increasing wildfire risks. In 2024, California endured record dry conditions following unusually wet winters, creating a dangerous feedback loop that experts warn will worsen.

• Record Temperatures: 2024 was likely the second hottest year ever, and 2025 is on track to continue this trend. Rising heatwaves, prolonged droughts, and an extended wildfire season demonstrate the accelerating effects of a warming planet. According to UCLA climatologist Daniel Swain, such conditions are no longer seasonal but year-round, pushing communities to adapt to persistent risks.

• More Intense Pathways: Climate hazards like warming, droughts, and floods have exacerbated the spread of 58% of known human pathogenic diseases. Pathogens spread through vector-borne, airborne, and waterborne pathways, increasing health risks as ecosystems and populations shift.

🩺 How Climate Change Impacts Public Health

Climate change is reshaping public health, driving the spread of diseases in unprecedented ways:

• Vector-Borne Diseases: Mosquitoes carrying malaria and other pathogens are expanding into new regions, with locally acquired cases reported in Texas, Florida, and Maryland. Tick borne illnesses like Lyme are appearing earlier and in previously unaffected areas due to warmer winters and longer summers.

• Fungal Infections: Valley fever, once confined to dry regions like California and Arizona, is now being detected as far north as Washington State. The fungal pathogen Candida auris is also spreading rapidly, linked to rising global temperatures and disrupted ecosystems.

• Waterborne Diseases: Rising sea levels and flooding are increasing the spread of pathogens like Vibrio and E. coli, putting coastal communities at heightened risk.

A study published in JAMA highlights over 1,000 unique pathways through which climate hazards such as floods, heatwaves, and sea level rise, intensifying the spread of diseases like dengue, cholera, and West Nile virus. Experts urge healthcare systems to adapt through enhanced disease tracking, better clinician training, and a stronger focus on climate related health risks.

⚡ What the Incoming Administration Means for Climate Policy

The incoming federal administration is expected to bring major shifts in climate policy, presenting both challenges and opportunities:

• Fossil Fuel Expansion: President elect Trump has pledged to ramp up oil and gas production, including opening federal lands like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. While this may reduce energy costs, it risks accelerating emissions and undoing recent progress.

• Inflation Reduction Act (IRA): The IRA, which funds clean energy and electric vehicles, faces potential rollbacks. While full repeal may face resistance, regulatory hurdles and funding caps are more likely. This could stall investments in solar, wind, and battery projects that have created jobs in many Republican districts.

• Motor Vehicle Standards: Federal emissions standards will most likely weaken, with potential efforts to revoke California’s stricter vehicle standards waiver. This could slow the transition to zero emission vehicles, even as automakers continue scaling up production.

• International Agreements: Trump has signaled plans to withdraw from the Paris climate accord again and may go further by exiting the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Such moves could cede global climate leadership to other nations and disrupt international collaboration.

Despite federal rollbacks, states and cities are expected to advance ambitious climate initiatives, investing in renewable energy, setting stricter emissions targets, and litigating against harmful policies.

🌎 Broader Environmental and Economic Challenges

• Financing Climate Action: At COP29, nations agreed to triple annual climate finance to $300 billion by 2035, but this falls short of the $1.3 trillion needed annually to help developing nations adapt. Experts highlight that the funding gap remains one of the largest barriers to global progress on climate resilience.

• Healthcare Preparedness: Doctors and researchers are calling for stronger efforts to address the health impacts of climate change, including emerging diseases and shifting infection patterns. Proactive planning, enhanced global cooperation, and improved infrastructure are critical to managing these growing risks.

📌 How to Prepare for 2025

Preparing for the impacts of climate change means addressing risks across regions:

•Extreme Weather Resilience 🌪️: Whether it’s hurricanes, wildfires, flooding, or heatwaves, being prepared is key. Know your evacuation routes, set a family meeting spot, and pack a bug-out bag with water, snacks, first aid supplies, flashlights, and important documents. Prep your home by securing outdoor items, clearing gutters, trimming trees, and creating defensible space in wildfire prone areas. Check your insurance to ensure it covers natural disasters in your region. Stay alert by monitoring weather updates.

•Health Preparedness: 🩹:Be aware of climate related health risks not just in your area but more broadly, since outbreaks can have far reaching effects such as travel disruptions or restrictions. Stay informed about risks like vector borne diseases and waterborne pathogens, and support prevention efforts in your community to stay ahead of potential challenges.

•Advocate and Stay Informed: 📣: Support policies that promote renewable energy, disaster preparedness, and climate resilience. Stay on top of issues like these with this newsletter, where I share accurate information, explore solutions, and provide actionable insights to help counter misinformation and inspire meaningful action in our community.

Closing Thought

2025 is shaping up to be a pivotal year across many areas of preparedness, from climate challenges to geopolitical shifts, cybersecurity threats, and more. Don’t miss an update, subscribe below 👇 to my newsletter for weekly insights into the issues that matter most. Every Friday, I’ll provide a comprehensive overview of key topics, and throughout the week, I’ll dive deeper into specific issues to help you stay prepared and informed.

Stay informed. Stay prepared.