At a glance
Each region of the United States experiences climate change and its impacts on health differently. Learn more about climate related health impacts in the Northern Great Plains.
Temperature-related death and illness
Although the Northern Great Plains region lacks the extreme temperature increases experienced in other regions, people in this area are still at risk, given the large number of outdoor workers and recreationists. Further, those living within mobile and manufactured homes are physically more vulnerable to extreme heat, thereby disproportionately exposing them to temperature hazards.
Air quality impacts
The Great Plains experience a great deal of dust activity. From Montana to southern Texas, dust from land use, such as agriculture, impacts air quality. These are also regions where climate change is expected to affect drought patterns, worsening this issue.
Further, wildfires are projected to increase in the region with correspondent health implications. One study found that Montana has the highest per capita rate of premature deaths attributable to wildfire smoke.
Extreme events
The Northern Great Plains region is experiencing unprecedented extremes related to changes in climate, including severe droughts, increased hail frequency and size, floods, and wildfires. Further, climate pressures frequently act simultaneously, leading to compounding health-related outcomes. Earlier snowmelt combined with more intense precipitation events can exacerbate flooding, putting people at risk of water-borne diseases, trauma, increased mental health issues, and economic losses. Wildfires are more common during hotter months when drought is more common, exposing people to compounding risks and stress from smoke, heat, and poor water quality.
Over the last two decades, these unusually extreme events have strained the response capacities of Tribes, and climate change will only increase the need for the ability to fight fires, floods, and droughts. This has widespread impacts on Tribal economies and livelihoods, domestic and municipal water supplies, and health and well-being.
Vector-borne diseases
Rising temperatures and precipitation are expected to increase the population of disease-carrying insects, such as mosquitos like Cx. tarsalis. In the northern Great Plains, this is expected to lead to an increased risk of West Nile Virus (WNV). The locations of annual WNV outbreaks vary, but several states have reported consistently high rates of disease over the years, including North Dakota and South Dakota.
Water-related illness
Excess contributions of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, from agricultural runoff or wastewater treatment plants can cause water quality issues, which are expected to be exacerbated by climate change. Nutrient runoff spikes after heavy rain and contributes to harmful algal blooms (HABs), which are toxic not only to local wildlife but to humans as well.
Food safety, nutrition, and distribution
Agriculture is essential to the economy and culture of the Northern Great Plains region and plays a crucial role in U.S. food security. Although growing seasons and frost-free periods are lengthening due to climate change, other factors may stress crop production. The probability of more days with maximum temperatures above 90°F is expected to increase, potentially impacting agriculture. The net effect of climate change on specific crop yields will depend on the interacting effects of temperature, moisture, carbon dioxide, and ozone, as well as adaptation through shifts in cultivars, crop mix, and management practices. Simultaneously, ranchers face increasing challenges managing livestock health due to heat stress, parasites, and pathogens.
Additionally, Indigenous peoples in the region see many changes to their natural environment and ecosystems. This impacts their livelihoods, health, traditional subsistence on wild foods, and usage of natural resources for ceremonies and medicines.
Mental health and well-being
Climate anxiety, a feeling of doom about future climate change, is already prominent among farmers and ranchers in the region. Simultaneously, climate change threatens the spiritual and mental health of local Indigenous communities. Indigenous communities share ancestral ties to the natural resources, which are inextricably linked to their identities, cultures, and livelihoods. Direct impacts such as crop failure, increased disease, and biodiversity loss can lead to increased loss of Traditional Knowledge and language, degrading the mental health of Indigenous peoples.
The adverse effect of climate change on mental health is a particular concern for the Northern Great Plains, which has some of the highest suicide rates in the country. The suicide rates are particularly high in rural and Indigenous populations and are further exacerbated in part because of remoteness from care and the limited number of mental health professionals.
Populations of concern
Because Tribes are among those in the region with the highest rates of poverty and unemployment, and because many are still directly reliant on natural resources, they are among the most at risk of climate change.
Additionally, pregnant people and newborns are uniquely vulnerable to flood health hazards. Flood exposure was associated with adverse birth outcomes (preterm birth, low birth weight) after the 1997 floods in North Dakota and connected to maternal experience of traumatic stress. Homes in floodplains are disproportionately occupied by renters and non-White populations.