Climate Impacts
What It Means to Be a Resilient Community
Climate change "resilience" is the ability of a community to adapt and thrive in the face of extreme shocks and stresses like a severe weather event or prolonged drought. Resilient communities anticipate risks, plan to limit their impacts, and adopt strategies to support local recovery and adaptation.
Climate Impacts
Extreme Heat Is on the Horizon
Periods of dangerous, high-temperature days are on the rise as climate change heats up our region. Charlottesville is projected to see a significant increase in the frequency, duration, and intensity of extreme heat. Climate models show that by 2050, Charlottesville may experience more than twice as many extreme heat events (when the daily maximum temperature is above 95°F) annually as there were in 2020. By 2100, there may be more than seven times as many of these events.
Stay safe and learn more with Charlottesville's Heat Mitigation and Adaptation Guide.
Observed 30-year average (1990-2000)
Risk & Climate Vulnerability Assessment, City of Charlottesville (2023).
City Initiatives
Urban Heat Island Mapping Campaign
The way our city is built can affect the temperatures we experience. The less green space and more pavement and buildings in a neighborhood, the hotter it gets. Substantially developed areas with a severe lack of green space are known as "urban heat islands."
Charlottesville participated in a nationwide campaign to collect local data on temperatures and humidity levels across the city. This initiative helped us identify which areas of the city are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat and where resilience efforts should be prioritized.
City Initiatives
Building a Resilient Local Network
Though the City of Charlottesville, Albemarle County, and the University of Virginia are separate jurisdictional entities, we are one community, and we all face the same impacts from the changing climate. The Resilient Together project, a collaborative Climate Adaptation and Resilience Planning initiative launched in 2023, is designed to ensure our community is prepared to face the challenges of the future.
What You Can Do
Help Build a Resilient Charlottesville
