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Climate & Environment

The L.A. Times investigation into extreme heat’s deadly toll

Allan Wanner drinks melted ice cubes
Allan Wanner, who lives alone at Corkill Park RV & Mobile Homes in Desert Hot Springs, tries to stay cool by drinking melted ice cubes in his trailer in May 2021.
(Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)
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Extreme heat is one of the deadliest consequences of global warming.

But in a state that prides itself as a climate leader, California chronically undercounts the death toll and has failed to address the growing threat of heat-related illness and death, a Los Angeles Times investigation has found.

Read the investigation

Diane McLindon and her dog Frankie, try and stay cool in their trailer.

Heat waves are far deadlier than we think. How California neglects this climate threat

California chronically undercounts the death toll from extreme heat, which disproportionately harms the poor, the elderly and others who are vulnerable.

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How we reported this story

Reporters Anna M. Phillips, Tony Barboza, Ruben Vives and Sean Greene, working with health data analyst Logan Arnold, found that heat likely caused about 3,900 deaths over the previous decade — six times the state’s official tally. This undercounting, they wrote, has contributed to California’s lack of urgency in confronting a public health crisis that is only getting worse.

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A man cools down in the splash pad area of the North Hollywood Pool

How our reporters revealed the shocking death toll of California heat waves

California has done a poor job tackling a public health crisis that is only getting worse with climate change.

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The inequalities of how we experience heat

People’s risk of heat-related illness and death is also a product of the built environment around them. The amount of paved surfaces and tree cover where they live and work, the quality of their housing and their ability to pay to cool their surroundings can make the difference between death or mere discomfort.

The unequal distribution of cooling infrastructure in Los Angeles and other cities is a big reason the health impacts of worsening heat waves fall disproportionately on the poor and communities of color while those with money and privilege remain relatively shielded from the problem — by trees and parks, better housing and the power to crank up the air conditioning whenever they want.

Felisa Benitez, 86, wipes the sweat from her brow

Poor neighborhoods bear the brunt of extreme heat, ‘legacies of racist decision-making’

Paved surfaces, tree cover, and home construction quality can make the difference between heat waves being an inconvenience or a threat to your life.

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The dangers warehouse workers face

LANCASTER, CA - JULY 11, 2021 - - RiteAid workers Jesus Ramos, from left, Debbie Fontaine, Sylvia Estrada and Debbie Fontaine stand among the Joshua trees at the Prime Desert Woodland Preserve in Lancaster on July 11, 2021. All have complained about the hot working conditions at a RiteAid warehouse where they work that doesn't offer enough air conditioning and creates an unhealthy work environment. Some workers have had to be taken away by ambulance for heat exhaustion. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

How hot is it inside Southern California’s warehouses? Ask the workers at Rite Aid

Extreme heat is endangering California warehouse workers, who often labor without air conditioning.

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Fueled by customers’ growing addiction to one-day delivery and a pandemic-driven surge in online shopping, demand for warehouses has skyrocketed.

As land near major ports and cities becomes scarcer and pricier, developers are heading deeper into the Inland Empire and the Central Valley, where temperatures are rising faster than in coastal communities. Low-wage workers, most of them Black and Latino, are facing increased risks as they follow the job boom to some of the hottest parts of California, into warehouses that industry experts say are mostly not air-conditioned.

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Air conditioning can mean life or death

Federal data show that poor families have a far lower rate of air conditioning units in their homes than the average, and even when they have AC, they are reluctant to use it, or get equipment fixed due to costs. As heat waves intensify and become more frequent, AC can be the difference between life and death.

CATHEDRAL CITY, CA - JUNE 10, 2021 - - Cory Hammond, 52, mourns the loss of his mother Sandra Hammond, who died in her home in Palm Springs last August when temperatures reached 114-degrees in Cathedral City. Her cremains are stored in a blue wave-shaped urn, right. She was found unconscious by a friend who often went over to help groom the dogs, according to Hammond's son. "She noticed that my mother's breathing was ragged," he said. "My father was there but he thought she was sleeping; they often nap during the day," Cory said. He said his parents had been using a swamp cooler and fans to stay cool. Their central air conditioning unit had broken down a while ago and needed to be replaced. By the time Hammond reached the hospital, where she died two days later, her body temperature was recorded at 106 degrees. Five months after Sandra's death, her husband heard from the Southern California Edison's Energy Savings Assistance Progam saying that the couple had qualified for a central AC replacement. Cory Hammond was photographed in his home in Cathedral City on June 10, 2021. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

As heat waves intensify, access to air conditioning can mean life or death

Utilities have funds available to install air conditioning in low-income households, but for one California family, help did not come soon enough.

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The role of climate change

Climate change is transforming the character of the West’s hottest periods — making them more frequent, more persistent, more humid and more lethal.

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Experts say this shift in heat waves should prompt changes in emergency notifications and public health response to keep the death toll from rising. But that isn’t happening.

PALMDALE, CA - JULY 11, 2021 - - A woman tries to create her own shade under a towel while cooling off at Dry Town Water Park in Palmdale where temperatures reached 108 degrees by 3 p.m. Sunday on July 11, 2021. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

Climate change is supercharging California heat waves, and the state isn’t ready

California’s worst heat waves arrive in a one-two punch — high temperatures combined with humid air from Baja.

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Staying safe amid extreme heat

With climate change triggering increasingly severe heat, Californians need to prepare themselves for temperature extremes, just as they do for earthquakes and other disasters.

Here’s what you need to know about heat-related illnesses. How can you identify, treat and prevent them?

PACOIMA, CA - JUNE 16, 2021 - - Lizette Romo Gonzalez, 31, wipes the sweat off her son's brow while trying to cool off in front of their unit at the San Fernando Gardens Public Housing where temperatures rose to 94 degrees in Pacoima on June 16, 2021. Gonzalez lives in the unit with her husband and five children. She said it was so hot recently that she put all her children in a bathtub of ice cubes and water. That didn't go so well and all the children came down with colds. It was the last time she tried that method. As with other climate-related disasters, the consequences are hugely unequal falling disproportionately on poor communities, like The Gardens, where trees are scarce and residents don't have air conditioning or can't afford to run it. Apartments in public housing do not come with air conditioning and residents have to buy their own, use fans or buy swamp coolers. The families that do have air conditioning use them sparingly to keep their energy bills affordable. (Genaro Molina / Los Angeles Times)

How to protect yourself and your loved ones from extreme heat

What are heat-related illnesses and how are they treated? Are they preventable or inevitable? We talked to health experts for the answers.

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Impact

Felisa Benitez, 86, wipes the sweat from her brow while taking a break from cleaning her stand-up electrical fan on the porch of her home where temperatures reached 99 degrees at the San Fernando Gardens Public Housing in Pacoima on August 4, 2021. Benitez, who lives alone, tries to only use fan to cool herself even though she has an AC unit, to the right, at her place. She is on a limited budget and uses the AC sparingly to avoid a huge electrical bill that she cannot afford to pay. Benitez, who has lived at the gardens since the 90s, spends a great deal of her day seated in the shade of her porch. According to Los Angeles County Coroner's and Medical Offices, hundreds of heat-related deaths reviewed by the Times showed the victims included seniors who died alone in apartments without air conditions, or with the thermostat off.

California considers ranking heat waves after Times investigation into extreme heat deaths

MISSION HILLS, CA-DECEMBER 4, 2019: Mission Hills resident Alberto Rodriguez, 32, walks through knee deep water on a flooded street outside of his home, at left, on Woodman Ave. The cause of the flood was a rupture from a 72 inch steel riveted trunk line that was installed back in 1914. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times)

Dozens of L.A. County communities face growing peril from fire, heat, flooding

Felisa Benitez, 86, wipes the sweat from her brow while taking a break from cleaning her stand-up electrical fan on the porch of her home where temperatures reached 99 degrees at the San Fernando Gardens Public Housing in Pacoima on August 4, 2021. Benitez, who lives alone, tries to only use fan to cool herself even though she has an AC unit, to the right, at her place. She is on a limited budget and uses the AC sparingly to avoid a huge electrical bill that she cannot afford to pay. Benitez, who has lived at the gardens since the 90s, spends a great deal of her day seated in the shade of her porch. According to Los Angeles County Coroner's and Medical Offices, hundreds of heat-related deaths reviewed by the Times showed the victims included seniors who died alone in apartments without air conditions, or with the thermostat off.

Gov. Newsom announces plan to deal with extreme heat

The governor has released guidelines following a Los Angeles Times investigation into California’s failure to address heat-related deaths.

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Keep up with our coverage

The Times has more coverage about extreme heat and climate change coming.

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