We have been in the middle of one heat wave after another across Southern California. It is the type of heat that is beyond uncomfortable. For many, it can be deadly.
UCLA researchers paint a picture of what happens on extremely hot days with data collected on emergency room visits on extremely hot days. They say at least a dozen more deaths happen on extreme heat days in Los Angeles County.
“So, we get more emergency room visits. There many more premature deaths there, and heat has been the silent killer,” Marta Segura, Los Angeles’ first-ever Chief Heat Officer, said.
The disturbing reality is not lost on Segura, who says they had to be nimble during these latest hot days.
“We’ve added cooling centers in East Los Angeles for this particular heat wave because we were told by the National Weather Service that this time it was going to be impacting more of East LA,” she said.
Cooling center locations are now available on a city mobile app and website. It also shows available pools, recreational facilities and libraries, all places to beat the heat citywide.
Segura points to areas of greatest concern: “The valley areas like Sylmar, Pacoima, Canoga Park, where we have less tree canopy and less air conditioning,” she said.
“Communities that have lacked infrastructure on many levels for a long time and that are experiencing higher levels of heat,” Segura added.
Yet, knowing how heat may be contributing to people passing out or dying, including in the most vulnerable communities, could — but is not — happening in real time.
The NBC4 I-Team wanted to know how many heat-related deaths have been documented in the state over the last few years. We obtained information from the California Department of Public Health, but it only showed deaths through 2020.
The department also said the data may not represent all heat-related deaths that occurred during that time, adding there’s an average lag of approximately six to 12 months to get this type of information.
The data did show heat-related deaths in California more than doubled from 2019 to 2020: 63 to 133 heat-related deaths, respectively. The most reported heat-related deaths in 2020 occurred in Riverside County, followed by Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties.
Segura said she is concerned that heat-related deaths are being missed and not tracked efficiently enough.
“With the pandemic, we had sometimes daily numbers for how many people were hospitalized, how many people passed away. We want to get closer to that kind of tracking and monitoring for extreme heat,” Segura said.
She says accurate and timely data is critical so resources can get to where they’re needed most. She told NBC4 the city is working with the state and federal government to help accelerate reporting times.
The state’s heat action plan – released in 2022- calls for the modernization of the system that registers heat-related deaths.
The CDPH told the NBC4 I-Team an upcoming version of that system will include “… a new field requesting information about disaster-related deaths including extreme heat events…”
Segura says significant change will happen in stages and added that this is the first year the state government has released a couple hundred million dollars to address climate and extreme heat.
“In the meantime, we’re strategically targeting areas of greatest need, and so we’ll start to see changes in those first areas and then move on from there,” Segura said.
“It isn’t your grandmother’s summer. It isn’t even your summer anymore. There’s a fivefold increase in heat waves since 10 years ago, and there’ll be another fivefold increase in another by 2050,” she said. “No one in LA will be able to overcome that,” she added.
Heat relief resources can be found here.
Source: NBC Los Angeles
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