State-Level Climate Security Education: Washington

Washington State faces escalating risks from drought, wildfires, extreme heat, and coastal flooding, which threaten its economy, ecosystems, and critical US military installations. While federal agencies like NOAA and FEMA provide essential forecasting, funding, and disaster recovery services, the report argues that recent and proposed budget cuts for FY2026—including the termination of key research laboratories and the reduction of grant programs—significantly degrade the state's capacity to prepare for and respond to these hazards.

• Washington has experienced significant economic losses from weather and climate disasters, with 36 events causing losses over $1 billion each between 1980 and April 2025, including 15 wildfires, 13 droughts, and eight storms, floods, or freezes.
• Water security is declining as spring snowpack in the Cascades has dropped by 25% since 1950 and is expected to decline by 40-60% by 2100, which threatens agriculture and hydroelectricity, the source of 59% of the state's electricity.
• Wildfire risks are increasing, with the average annual area burned in the Pacific Northwest projected to more than triple by the 2040s, while the 'wildland-urban interface' in Snohomish County alone involves 127,000 people and $10 billion in infrastructure.
• Extreme heat is becoming more frequent and lethal; the 2021 heat dome caused 441 non-COVID excess deaths, and the number of extreme heat days is projected to increase from an average of 3 (1971-2021) to between 17 and 30 days by the 2050s.
• Coastal and urban infrastructure in Washington is threatened by sea level rise and subsidence, particularly in the Puget Sound region where 100% of Seattle’s land area is sinking at measurable rates, impacting structures like the Elliott Bay seawall.
• Several critical US national security assets in Washington are vulnerable to climate disruptions, including Fairchild Air Force Base, Joint Base Lewis-McChord, Naval Air Station Whidbey Island, and Naval Base Kitsap, the latter of which houses one of four nuclear shipyards.
• Proposed FY2026 budget cuts would terminate several key NOAA and FEMA programs, including the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund, the National Sea Grant program, and the Urban Areas Security Initiative, while reducing the US Forest Service budget and USDA discretionary funding.
• Recent 2025 federal actions have already degraded state resilience by eliminating the Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) program, suspending the Hazard Mitigation Grant Program (HMGP), and denying disaster aid requests, such as a $34 million request for a November 2024 bomb cyclone.

APA

The Council on Strategic Risks (2025). State-Level Climate Security Education: Washington. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2025/12/04/state-level-climate-security-education-washington/

Chicago

The Council on Strategic Risks. State-Level Climate Security Education: Washington. 2025. https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2025/12/04/state-level-climate-security-education-washington/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=The Council on Strategic Risks |title=State-Level Climate Security Education: Washington |date=4 December 2025 |url=https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2025/12/04/state-level-climate-security-education-washington/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{thecouncilonstrategicrisks2025statelevel, author = {{The Council on Strategic Risks}}, title = {{State-Level Climate Security Education: Washington}}, institution = {The Council on Strategic Risks}, year = {2025}, month = dec, url = {https://councilonstrategicrisks.org/2025/12/04/state-level-climate-security-education-washington/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }