With summer around the corner and temperatures expected to soar to record highs this weekend, California is taking new actions to protect communities from extreme heat — the No. 1 cause of weather-related deaths in the state, said the Office of Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Newsom recently announced the launch of CalHeatScore, a cutting-edge tool to forecast and rank heat severity risks and connect Californians with available resources to stay safe during extreme heat events. With CalHeatScore, California becomes the first state in the nation — and one of the only jurisdictions in the world — to launch a heat-ranking system. Newsom’s office says this announcement comes as the Trump administration makes life-threatening cuts to the federal government’s weather monitoring apparatus.
CalHeatScore, developed by the California Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, brings together ZIP code level data to provide locally tailored guidance. The tool identifies groups most susceptible to extreme heat — such as older adults and children — and provides tips for staying safe, such as how to recognize signs of heat illness. The tool additionally integrates other important data sets, like locations for the nearest cooling centers.
Newsom additionally announced $32.4 million to support 47 California communities in lifesaving extreme heat mitigation efforts. The Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program aims to support local, tribal and regional efforts to combat dangerous heat exposure by building long-lasting infrastructure solutions and strengthening community resilience needed to withstand extreme heat events.
“Extreme heat kills — and with the federal government cutting the very programs that help forecast it, California is taking aggressive action to protect residents from the impacts of extreme heat and build resilience in our most vulnerable communities,” said Newsom. “With the first major heat of the summer expected this weekend, we’re connecting more Californians — particularly those that are most vulnerable to dangerous heat — to life-saving information, resources and programs across the state.”
In a hotter, drier world, connecting Californians with extreme weather information and resources has never been more important — especially as the federal government cuts critical programs providing pertinent information on weather, added Newsom’s office.
First-in-the-nation heat-ranking tool
The new CalHeatScore tool will be leveraged across state government, providing early warning that allows resources to be mobilized with greater speed and precision to communities that need it, promise staffers. To ensure the new tool works for Californians, the state will continue gathering input from the public, which will be used to shape future updates.
“Every single preventable death is one too many,” said Yana Garcia, California’s secretary for environmental protection. “This groundbreaking tool will help Californians plan and respond so they can stay safe when a heat wave is about to strike. And it will shore up the state’s all-in fight against the very real dangers that climate change keeps bringing to our doorstep.”
In 2021, the California Department of Insurance’s Climate Insurance Workgroup recommended California build a system to rank heat waves to better communicate the deadly risks to Californians and help communities prepare, similar to how tropical storms and hurricanes are described by category level.
As part of a broader climate package in 2022, Newsom signed Assembly Bill 2238 by Assemblymember Luz Rivas to codify CDI’s recommendation by requiring the state to develop a statewide extreme heat ranking system.
“CalHeatScore is an important tool to prepare Californians for extreme heat,” said Nancy Ward, director of the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services. “It helps increase our readiness for heat events and protect those at greatest risk.”
Building on investments to protect Californians
The funding recently announced builds on the governor’s extreme heat action plan, which guides the state’s response to extreme heat events. Developed in partnership with more than 20 state agencies and informed by more than 1,000 individuals through listening sessions and public engagement, these grants respond directly to community needs and build on existing state programs.
Extreme heat solutions announced recently combine physical infrastructure with nature-based solutions and in-home technology to create more resilient communities. In Northern California, for example, North Coast Opportunities and the Middletown Rancheria of Pomo Indians of California will partner to provide solar-powered air conditioning in the homes of vulnerable community members.
“California is taking aggressive action to protect residents from the impacts of extreme heat and build resilience in our most vulnerable communities,” said Samuel Assefa, director of Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation, the agency overseeing the funding. “With lives on the line each summer, the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program will provide critical infrastructure investments in heat vulnerable communities.”
Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the state, claiming more lives annually than any other climate threat, including fires and floods. Last year, California communities experienced the hottest summer on record in 130 years. According to a report from the Department of Insurance, from 2013 to 2022, seven extreme heat events resulted in nearly 460 deaths, over 5,000 hospitalizations and about 344 adverse birth outcomes.
State research shows a correlation between heat and a range of negative health effects including death, lower birth weight and increased emergency room visits and hospitalizations for conditions ranging from heart conditions to poor mental health. Extreme heat also takes an economic toll on the state, with an estimated $7.7 billion of lost wages, agricultural disruptions and power outages.
Extreme heat calls for more water
During periods of extreme heat, access to water is more critical than ever to prevent illness and death. California is expected to lose 10% of its water supply due to hotter and drier conditions, threatening the water supply for millions of Californians. As part of the May revision, the governor’s office said Newsom advanced a groundbreaking proposal to fast-track and streamline one of California’s most important water management and climate adaptation projects, the Delta Conveyance Project. This project would create much-needed and long-overdue improvements to the State Water Project, which provides water for 27 million people and 750,00 acres of farmland, said Newsom’s office.
