As the Northern Hemisphere tiptoes into summer, Florida is already in the crosshairs of what is likely to be a season of extremes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Storms battered South Florida this week, with nearly a foot of rain falling in just hours over some parts on Wednesday, causing severe flooding in and around Miami<\/a>, Fort Lauderdale, Sarasota and other major cities. Several weeks earlier, an early-season heat wave<\/a> sent heat indexes well into the triple digits across the same region. And all of this comes less ahead of what forecasters say could be an exceptionally active hurricane season<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those extremes have a common denominator \u2014 they\u2019re all amplified by climate change. That\u2019s a reality at odds with the state\u2019s politics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has emerged as one of the country\u2019s most vocal and active politicians in opposing efforts to address climate change. Last month, he signed into law a bill to deprioritize climate change<\/a> in the state\u2019s energy policies, largely scrubbing the phrase from its statutes<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe\u2019re restoring sanity in our approach to energy and rejecting the agenda of the radical green zealots,\u201d DeSantis wrote on X<\/a> touting the bill. <\/p>\n\n\n\n DeSantis this year also signed into law a bill that bans cities and counties from requiring mandatory water breaks and other workplace protections against extreme heat. It goes into effect July 1, leaving workers with little to no protections ahead of what the National Weather Service predicts will be a warmer-than-usual summer for Florida and much of the rest of the U.S.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Experts say DeSantis\u2019 policies are in stark contrast to climate science. It\u2019s the kind of dissonance that makes it more challenging to protect people and prepare them for the realities of living in a warming world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt every level of government, we need to figure out: How do we adapt our programs, policies and responses to a climate that is changing rapidly and will continue to do so?\u201d said Katharine Mach, a professor at the University of Miami\u2019s Rosenstiel School of Marine, Atmospheric, & Earth Science and chair of the school\u2019s environmental science and policy department. \u201cFiguring all of that out is the adaptation of our era.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeSantis has also avoided tapping federal money to help states address climate change. Florida is one of just five states that opted out of a $250 million federal program<\/a> to help localities develop plans to limit greenhouse gas emissions, though Miami, Jacksonville and three other cities were able to receive some funding. DeSantis did recently accept $350 million of federal money for energy efficiency upgrades after he initially vetoed it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jeremy Redfern, DeSantis\u2019 press secretary, said Florida\u2019s susceptibility to hurricanes and extreme weather is a product of its being a low-lying coastal state, but he did not address climate change specifically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThis issue is not new but a fact of Florida\u2019s geography and topography,\u201d Redfern said in an email. \u201cAs such, strengthening and fortifying our beaches, infrastructure, and homes is the correct focus for the state.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Climate change remains a deeply partisan issue<\/a>, though there have been some signs Republicans<\/a> are beginning to take it more seriously. Still, what to do about it remains a topic on which Republicans and Democrats are far apart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n And with the Republican Party rallying around former President Donald Trump as its presumptive nominee for the November election, climate change is expected to remain highly politicized. Trump has called climate change a \u201choax\u201d<\/a> and has said he wants to repeal federal laws offering incentives for electric vehicles and offshore wind. <\/p>\n\n\n\n DeSantis, who aligned himself with Trump after his failed presidential run, talked during his campaign last fall<\/a> about \u201ca concerted effort to ramp up the fear when it comes to things like global warming and climate change,\u201d casting climate change as part of a broader culture war, rather than recognizing global warming as a real threat, critics say.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ali Zaidi, President Joe Biden\u2019s climate adviser, said many states are falling behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cIt\u2019s just simply irresponsible to deny folks the measures of mitigation that are readily available to us, that help us protect the American people from the worst impacts of the climate crisis,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The threat to Florida is particularly urgent, with some parts at risk this summer when temperatures and humidity spike.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Hialeah, a suburb of Miami, is one of the places most vulnerable to heat and health impacts in the country, according to a new heat and health index<\/a> from the White House and the Department of Health and Human Services, which identified only 0.3% of other ZIP codes around the country as likely to be more vulnerable. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Floridians also face financial challenges. Extreme weather has driven home insurance costs sharply higher<\/a>, with many insurers leaving the state altogether<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Those types of financial setbacks can be political catalysts, said Emma Fisher, deputy director of Climate Cabinet Action, a political action committee that supports climate-focused candidates in down-ballot races.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cClimate change is increasingly having everyday impacts and financial impacts for Americans,\u201d Fisher said. \u201cIt\u2019s one of those things where, when it starts to hit voters in their pocketbooks, then it becomes a big issue for voters.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n The U.S. Senate<\/a> has looked at whether Florida\u2019s state-backed insurer<\/a> has enough money to handle payouts if hurricanes continue to batter the state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DeSantis has also downplayed the role of climate change in intensifying hurricanes<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Studies have shown, however, that warm sea surface temperatures and a warmer atmosphere can help storms pick up wind speed and strengthen rapidly, particularly as they near land. A warmer atmosphere can also hold more moisture, meaning such storms can dump more rain and cause more damage once they make landfall.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Together, conditions are set for what could be a \u201cvery scary and very dangerous hurricane season,\u201d said Andrew Pershing, director of climate science at the nonprofit organization Climate Central.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The recent Florida storms have added urgency among Florida Democrats. State Sen. Shevrin Jones posted Wednesday on X<\/a> in response to video of a flooded street in Miami Beach: \u201cFlorida refuses to acknowledge \u2018climate change,\u2019 despite streets turning into rivers and @GovRonDeSantis vetoing crucial infrastructure projects in vulnerable communities.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jayden D\u2019Onofrio, chairman of Florida Future Leaders, a Generation Z-led political action committee formed by young Democrats, similarly jabbed at DeSantis, noting the recent bill that removed mentions of climate change from state law. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNow, South Florida is experiencing some of the worst flooding it has ever seen,\u201d D\u2019Onofrio posted on X<\/a>. \u201cWe are ruining our beautiful state because of political maneuvering.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n