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States facing the greatest health harms from climate change are the least equipped to protect their residents.
Across the United States, climate change is intensifying extreme weather events, resulting in increased public health harm and severe economic damage. For example, devastating inland flooding in Texas in 2025 killed 134 people and damaged $1 billion worth of residential property; The catastrophic 2025 wildfires in Southern California destroyed more than 10,000 buildings (at a cost of $63 billion) and resulted in more than 8,000 health care visits; and the landfall of Hurricane Milton in Florida in 2024 killed 32 people and damaged $34 billion worth of property. These climate costs are typically borne by disaster victims, insurers, state agencies, and the federal government. Given the retreat of federal leadership from climate policy, state governments are increasingly seeking to improve preparedness and resilience to reduce future costs and health impacts.
However, a new analysis led by NRDC and published in the journal Health issues sheds light on key state-level gaps between climate change-related health harms and preparedness levels. We found that some of the states most affected by climate are the least equipped to help their residents recover from climate disasters and prepare for future dangers. The intersection of growing climate risks and adaptation vulnerabilities demands state policy intervention. Better integration of social protection policies into state climate resilience plans can help states close these gaps and better protect their residents.
READ THE FULL ISSUE SUMMARY: Who can weather the storm? (PDF)
By Dr. Vijay Limaye; Director, Applied Research Initiatives, Scientific and International Office, NRDC
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