Here’s how rising Florida heat will affect national security: Column

As we prepare to honor the brave men and women who will protect this anniversary, we must also confront how the intense summer heat hinders their abilities.

Last year, NASA nominated the summer that recorded the hottest summer on the planet in 2024. Experts suggest that this summer may last for nearly a second.

Already known for its humid humidity, Florida saw a dangerous heat wave that was tense on infrastructure, public health systems and military facilities last summer.

As this year has not changed, we must take action to keep people on the frontline safe.

Sunshine State has 24 active military facilities and over 60,000 active personnel, with the sixth largest member becoming active in the country.

Our Department of Defense needs Florida to remain a place where extreme heat can not put safety, performance or equipment at risk, and the military can be trained, operated and mission-ready.

From 2008 to 2018, the military experienced at least 17 deaths related to fever exposure in July 2023 alone, and 720 cases of fever-related illnesses among service members. As a result, the establishment of military training had to adapt training schedules to avoid the hottest times of the day to mitigate the health risks associated with extreme heat.

However, warming weather not only puts the health of active personnel at risk, but also threatens infrastructure and equipment as higher temperatures contribute to sea level rise and extreme weather events.

The increased threat of 3 feet of sea level rise has 128 US military bases and facilities, which could arrive by the end of the century. Norfolk is the world’s largest naval base in Portsmouth, Virginia. Due to rising sea levels, floods have already occurred 10 times a year.

In 2003, Hurricane Isabel alone caused $166 million in flood damage at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia.

Unfortunately, these are only a few of the side effects of climate change, and they may continue to burn heat-confined fossil fuels and see more impacts while global warming is intensified. Meanwhile, the new administration is actively undermining climate science.

Climate change is not a political stubbornness, and scientists have made it clear. Overheating climates drive more frequent and harsh weather events, causing the US military to feel tension. The military is increasingly tasked with responding to climate-related disasters and drawing resources from traditional defence operations.

According to the Department of Defense, “Responding to the Climate Crisis is the drainage of personnel.” The National Guard spent more personnel days on firefighting, from 14,000 in 2016 to 176,000 in 2021, leading to a major redirection of time, attention and resources.

The facts prove that these climate-related threats are not abstract risks. They directly undermine our military preparations, and climate change directly affects our armed forces’ ability to keep us safe.

On this anniversary, we must look to a future that protects those who protect us. Leaders of the political spectrum will have to treat climate resilience as a core pillar of policy, or our national preparation will suffer.

Bella Kubach is a communications intern in the civic climate lobby, a nonprofit grass-hard climate advocacy organization, and currently holds a Masters in Arts in Global Sustainability from the University of South Florida. This opinion article was distributed by the invading sea website (www.theinvadingsea.com). It publishes news and commentary on climate change and other environmental issues affecting Florida.