Despite being battered by catastrophic Hurricanes Helene and Milton in quick succession, Florida is not ranked as the state most vulnerable to climate change.
The Environmental Defense Fund, Texas A&M University and Darkhorse Analytics have studied each U.S. state’s overall vulnerability to climate change by evaluating communities’ access to health care, housing, transport, and water supplies, as well as the number of natural disasters that affect each state or the number of deaths caused by extreme weather conditions.
In terms of climate-specific vulnerability, which includes factors like extreme weather events, deaths linked to extreme weather and the impact of costs, Florida actually has an average vulnerability ranking, while a hurricane-specific ranking then sets Florida as the most vulnerable state.
Overall, Mississippi was the most vulnerable state in the 100th percentile, while Florida’s vulnerability was in the 72nd percentile, placing it as the 16th most vulnerable state in the U.S.
Louisiana was the second most vulnerable state, followed …