Extreme heat is costly and deadly in California

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Amid a sweltering heat wave that began last week, several regions across the state shattered temperature records over the weekend. Palm Springs broke its all-time record high on Friday as temperatures climbed to 124 degrees. And on Saturday, cities in the San Joaquin Valley , as well as Death Valley where temperatures reached 128 degrees , broke their daily records. On Sunday, the heat in Death Valley proved fatal for one motorcyclist — and sent another to the hospital.

The human and financial toll of this extreme heat is costly for California . As CalMatters economy reporter Levi Sumagaysay explains, a report released last week from the state’s insurance department found that seven extreme heat events from 2013 to 2022 killed nearly 460 Californians, led to 5,000 hospitalizations and resulted in nearly 344 adverse birth outcomes. Lost wages, agricultural disruptions, power outages and other consequences of these heat events also cost the state about $7.7 billion.

Low-income communities, older adults and outdoor workers are disproportionately harmed by extreme heat too, the 92-page report found. Black, Native American and Hispanic Californians also had the highest heat-related death rates compared to Asian and white residents.

• Michael Mendez , an assistant professor of environmental planning and policy at UC Irvine: “It’s really important to understand that heat is a silent killer. (It) requires the same amount of speed in action that large disasters get, such as wildfires.”

The analysis follows years of warnings about extreme heat and other repercussions of climate change by other state entities, such as the Legislative Analyst’s Office . Because there is little to no insurance coverage available for the effects of extreme heat (such as lost wages for workers or power outages for businesses), one of the report’s main goals is to provide data to policymakers, businesses and the insurance industry about the costs of high heat.

The report recommends expanding investment in disaster planning. It also proposes using existing state and federal funds to strengthen infrastructure and restore access to shade-providing green spaces. But the budget deal Gov. Gavin Newsom signed last week gutted about $107.8 million in funding from programs that address extreme heat, such as ones that help local entities provide shade and educate the public about the risks of high temperatures. A climate bond measure on the November ballot would restore some of that funding.

Learn more about the insurance report on Levi’s story.

Meanwhile, wildfires continue to burn across the state — prompting some cities to cancel Fourth of July celebrations . As of Sunday evening, Cal Fire reported 23 active wildfires , including the French Fire in Mariposa County that started Thursday. Roughly 1,100 firefighters are battling the blaze, which is 55% contained. Evacuation orders have been lifted and some residents have returned home, reports the San Francisco Chronicle .

State and local departments are also warning residents about poor air quality resulting from wildfires and fireworks . Last week, the California Air Resources Board released an interactive map detailing safe places where residents can seek refuge when they are enduring smoke or poor air quality.

Wildfire season: Check out CalMatters’ wildfire tracker for live updates on active fires, a FAQ and other information. And find out more on wildfires in our updated explainer .

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Other Stories You Should Know

Training future rural valley doctors

To entice more doctors and health workers to the San Joaquin Valley, California is expanding a medical education program at UC Merced , writes CalMatters health reporter Ana B. Ibarra . This includes pouring $243 million into construct a four-story building for select pre-med undergraduate students — the largest amount of money the state has put into a single construction project for the University of California system.

The area’s need for physicians is substantial: The region, an agriculture behemoth, spans eight counties and is home to about 4.3 million people. But it has one of the state’s lowest physician-to-patient ratios, and residents must often wait months for appointments or travel hours to seek care.

• Sara Bosse , Madera County’s public health director: “That patient population is low-income, (and has) challenges with regards to transportation, health literacy, language barriers, higher levels of stress. All of these factors make it harder for providers to provide care to that population.”

In 2023, one San Joaquin Valley hospital serving a county of 160,000 people shut down after declaring bankruptcy . Madera Community Hospital’s closure prompted the Legislature to create a $300 million bailout fund for financially distressed hospitals . The hospital is expected to reopen later this year , but its saga illustrates how California’s shortage of health providers hits low-income and remote rural communities especially hard .

Since UC Merced’s founding in the early 2000s, lawmakers have floated the idea of a fully formed medical school at the university to address the valley’s health worker shortage. Assemblymember Jasmeet Bains , a Bakersfield Democrat and a physician, also has a bill to create a fund for a future UC medical school in Kern County.

Learn more about the UC Merced program in Ana’s story.

Busting homelessness myths

When the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in June to grant cities more authority to sweep encampments , San Francisco Mayor London Breed praised the decision, saying the city will use it “to be a lot more aggressive with people who are choosing to stay on the streets of San Francisco — especially when we’re offering them help.”

But do many homeless people refuse shelter or housing as Breed suggests? Given the complexities and intense emotions surrounding one of California’s most prominent and polarizing issues , CalMatters homelessness reporter Marisa Kendall explores this question, as well as five other common myths about homelessness , including:

• Do most unhoused people come from other states?
• Is everyone who lives on the street addicted to drugs or mentally ill?
• Do unhoused people turn down employment?

For some homeless residents who do not accept shelter or other services, the reasons why can be complex, outreach workers told Marisa. Data from a statewide analysis suggests that when people are offered shelter that meets their needs — such as privacy, autonomy and the ability to keep their pets — they are likely to accept it.

Find out the answers to the other questions in Marisa’s story.

And lastly: The November election

You may have missed it heading into the long holiday weekend, but just before starting their summer vacation, California legislators set the final lineup of propositions on the November ballot. Find out which measures made it , plus lots more information on how propositions work, in our updated explainer.

California Voices

CalMatters columnist Dan Walters: Interstate 80 is an important commuter and cargo route and concerns that fixing it will lead to increased traffic are ludicrous .

CalMatters columnist Jim Newton: Playa Vista was forged through compromise, but an unwillingness to compromise is the reason why the restoration of its wetlands remains incomplete .

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