After weeks of extreme heat, health officials have reported numerous deaths, while emergency departments across the state are seeing record numbers of people seeking treatment for heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Climate Change in Texas
As Texans confront rising temperatures, declining water supplies, increasingly severe weather events, sea level rise and more, follow The Texas Tribune’s coverage as we investigate what climate change means for the state’s residents, how cities and communities are adapting, and the politics and policies that will accelerate — or block — climate solutions.
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Climate Change in Texas
Climate change has sent temperatures soaring in Texas
Hotter days and nights. More record highs. Climate change has shifted the entire range of Texas heat upwards.
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Texas Legislature 2023
As Texas swelters, local rules requiring water breaks for construction workers will soon be nullified
Gov. Greg Abbott approved a law this week that will eliminate city and county ordinances like Austin’s and Dallas’ mandated water breaks.
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2023 Session Recap
Climate proposals withered at the Texas Capitol this year
Proposals to improve energy efficiency failed. Bills that sought to limit greenhouse gas emissions in Texas were ignored, and legislation to block cities from taking action on climate change passed.
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2023 Session Recap
Texas lawmakers allocated more than $2 billion to increase the state’s water supply and reduce flooding
Texans across the state are affected by declining water supplies, water infrastructure disruptions and flooding in their communities.
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Texas Legislature 2023
After historic drought, lawmakers agree on billion-dollar plan to expand water supplies, fix infrastructure
Following one of the hottest summers on record, lawmakers have set an ambitious target: By 2033, they want to bump up the state’s water supply by an amount equal to three of the largest reservoirs in the state.
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Climate Change in Texas
Experts predict “near-normal” 2023 hurricane season of 12 to 17 named storms
One to four of those storms could be Category 3 or higher, meaning they will have wind speeds of at least 111 miles per hour.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas Republicans want to shield oil and gas from federal climate regulations. Their bill would have little impact, experts say.
The bill would direct Texas agencies to not enforce federal regulations on the oil industry if there’s not a similar state regulation. But it likely wouldn’t apply to most federal environmental rules, experts and lawmakers said.
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Texas Legislature 2023
Texas lawmakers consider spending $1 billion for flood prevention and Galveston’s “Ike Dike”
The coastal barrier project may get $550 million from the state this year, and another half a billion could be on the table for flood-control projects. But that’s a fraction of the estimated need for flood mitigation.
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Climate Change in Texas
Texas cotton farmers leading the charge for more government insurance to cover climate, inflation challenges
The federal Farm Bill is must-pass legislation that Congress debates every five years. It includes billions of dollars in farm subsidies and pays for food assistance programs.