The shady origins of the climate haven myth

The cleanup effort for Hurricane Helene had just begun in North Carolina when Hurricane Milton crashed into Florida as a Category 4 storm on October 9. | Mario Tama/Getty Images

The term “climate haven” never made much sense. After Hurricane Helene dumped two feet of rain on western North Carolina, many major media outlets marveled at how Asheville, which had been celebrated as a climate haven, had been devastated by a climate-related disaster. 

Some in the media later reported accurately that climate havens don’t actually exist.