Texas scientists: Power outages show why Texas must prepare for climate change

Last week, ice, snow and record-breaking cold left millions across Texas without electricity, heat or water, and with homes damaged or destroyed. Roughly 4 million homes and up to 15 million people had no power for several days, and 13 million homes had no water or poor water quality.

Like our fellow Texans, we were also victims of this preventable disaster; as always, however, this extreme weather-related disaster disproportionately impacted our most vulnerable populations. The compounding failures of interconnected life-sustaining resources created a dangerous crisis for millions, particularly those living in poverty and acutely suffering the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Read more about Katharine Hayhoe’s joint letter with Ginny Catania about the wintery crisis in Texas here.