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Phoenix, other cities keep growing as climate danger rises

AP Photo/Matt York

Soaring temperatures fueled by climate change are making it harder to live in some of the nation's fastest-growing cities, such as Phoenix and Las Vegas.

  

But in one of the more remarkable findings from the 2020 census, the searing weather has not deterred Americans from settling in such places. New population data shows that people keep flocking to communities where climate change makes life more uncomfortable and more precarious. A map by the Federal Emergency Management Agency found that the five fastest-growing cities in the U.S. — Phoenix, Las Vegas, Houston, Fort Worth and Seattle — are in counties at high risk of natural disasters such as hurricanes, flooding, wildfires and heat waves.

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