The White House released a report Tuesday summarizing the impact of climate change on different regions of the United States. The National Climate Assessment was developed over the last four years with input from U.S. climate scientists, technical experts and the public.
The report says Louisiana and the rest of the Southeast region is particularly vulnerable to extreme heat events, sea level rise, and hurricanes.
It notes that New Orleans is one of four cities in the US that has seen an increase in the number of days with temperatures above 95 degrees, when the number of deaths has been above average. The assessment also notes that New Orleans is one of the cities most at risk from rising sea levels, because about half the population lives below sea level.
Louisiana Sen. David Vitter told the Associated Press the report was "a political one used to justify government overreach."