In 2020, the United States experienced more billion-dollar climate disasters than at any time in its history, including the worst wildfire season on record and mudslides over wildfire-scarred hills that collapsed part of the historic Highway 1 near Big Sur on California's coast.
We saw extreme, historic cold and ice in Texas that left millions of people literally in the dark, without power, heat and even clean water. Our cities and communities are living with floods and fire, air pollution and plastic waste. And it's impacting low income and communities of color the most.
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And yet, there are signs of hope.
When the pandemic kept us off the roads, air pollution as tracked by NASA plummeted. With fewer people in our national forests, wildlife roamed freely at Yellowstone National Park. And some of the biggest corporations committed to a renewable future.
In this installment of "Our America: Climate of Hope," ABC Owned Television Stations' meteorologists across the country reflect on the changes they have seen in their communities because of extreme weather. With the help of National Geographic projections, they look ahead to what their cities could look like in 2070 and share how they have changed their lives because of climate change.
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You will hear from ABC7/WABC-TV New York chief meteorologist Lee Goldberg and WABC weather anchor Sam Champion; 6abc/WPVI-TV Philadelphia chief meteorologist Cecily Tynan; ABC7/WLS-TV Chicago meteorologists Cheryl Scott and Larry Mowry; ABC13/KTRK-TV Houston chief meteorologist Travis Herzog; ABC7/KGO-TV San Francisco meteorologists Drew Tuma and Sandhya Patel; ABC7/KABC-TV Los Angeles chief meteorologist Dallas Raines; ABC11/WTVD-TV Raleigh Durham meteorologist Brittany Bell; ABC30/KFSN-TV Fresno chief meteorologist Kevin Musso; and National Geographic Explorers Victoria Herrmann and Lillygol Sedaghat.
Watch "Our America: Climate of Hope," on your local ABC station, wherever you stream: Fire TV, Android TV, Apple TV and Roku beginning April 16 and on Hulu beginning April 17.