Which States Are Most Vulnerable to Climate Change?

Mississippi, Louisiana and Alabama are the states with the highest level of vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. This is according to the U.S. Climate Vulnerability Index, an analysis and ranking by the Environmental Defense Fund and Texas A&M University. As the following chart shows, the states to the south are at greatest overall risk from climate change, while those further north are in a comparatively better position, with Alaska, New Hampshire and Vermont among those with lowest vulnerability.

Mississippi has the worst ranking nationwide on a number of metrics, including child and maternal health, transportation sources and food insecurity. Meanwhile, Florida, currently under evacuation as Hurricane Milton nears, falls under the penultimate ‘higher vulnerability’ category. Among its top drivers of overall climate vulnerability are temperature-related deaths, how climate change could increase the costs of disaster preparation and recovery, as well as infectious diseases, particularly in regard to HIV, Hepatitis A and B.

Other states in the “highest vulnerability” category include Kentucky, notable for its poor score on air pollution-related deaths, Georgia, with its high share of adults without health insurance, and Louisiana, where self-reported mental health is among the worst in the country. California, which is considered to have “average vulnerability”, stands out for its high number of annual droughts. These examples serve to show the breadth of factors that can make a population vulnerable.

The CVI index is based on 184 indicators across environmental, social, economic and infrastructure metrics, looking at both pre-existing vulnerabilities and future risks from climate change. It reveals how levels of preparedness vary at a neighborhood level and are a result of many interwoven factors, with some communities far more disadvantaged than others.