Feeling the Heat

A new motion aims to protect L.A. renters and workers from extreme temperatures.

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors have approved a motion to address the threat of extreme heat regionwide. The measure articulates the County’s support for a statewide safe maximum indoor temperature standard and starts the process of examining how the County could implement local heat standards for residential buildings and high-risk workplace. It also asks for a report from the County’s housing authority to outline how it keeps residents cool. Here the Chief Sustainability Office answers a few questions about the motion.

What was the genesis of this motion? Has extreme heat gotten worse?

New action is needed to protect the health and safety of L.A. County residents and workers as the climate crisis bears down on us all.  Daily maximum temperatures will increase an average of 5.4 degrees regionally by midcentury, according to County estimates. Our daily maximum temperature average will rise to 98.6 degrees by 2050. In other words, it is getting hotter. During the 2020 heat storm, L.A. County set a new recorded temperature record. Communities in the San Fernando Valley hit 121 degrees --even hotter than our desert areas.

How many renters are estimated to be affected? How big is the problem?

Nearly half of L.A. County residents are renters. Being a renter is one of the critical factors that makes someone more likely to be vulnerable to extreme heat, according to the L.A. County Climate Vulnerability Assessment. Renters are much less likely to be able to make cooling home modifications, like installing a cool roof, upgrading to energy efficient windows and weatherizing the building. Residents’ types of occupations also contribute to their climate vulnerability, with some workers at high risk of health impacts from extreme heat.  

Which communities are most vulnerable? 

Unfortunately, the list of communities exposed to intense temperatures is a long one. To protect residents, we need to move from thinking about extreme heat as a discomfort and reframe it as a real threat. Many populations are at serious risk. The County’s Climate Vulnerability Assessment identified communities with high exposure to multiple threats. For example, Montebello is at risk of exposure to extreme heat, and also has a high proportion of people with disabilities and low vehicle access. Those social factors coupled with extreme temperature spell high vulnerability for those living there.



In the San Fernando Valley, the communities of Reseda and Winnetka are expected to face significant exposure to extreme heat, paired with proportions of limited-English households and people with preexisting health conditions. These are two examples of social factors that compound the dangers of heat. 

Some populations face obvious risks -- like outdoor workers and older adults. But research has identified other groups with elevated risk of poor health outcomes that might be less intuitive. For example, preterm birth rates and low-birth weights have been documented to be associated with elevated temperatures.

How can extreme heat affect our productivity and quality of life? What are the dangers?

Los Angeles’s economy is already zapped by nearly $5 billion in lost worker productivity in an average year due to heat, according to a new report. By 2050 the analysis found a doubling in heat-related economic losses, to $11 billion. Yes, billions of dollars from our economy are already draining away from our economy because of heat-related productivity losses.

Extreme heat accounts for more annual deaths than any other single weather-related hazard, according to the federal government.  It can trigger heat-related illness, like heat stroke, and

exacerbate other medical conditions, such as cardiovascular disease, kidney ailments and severe asthma. It also leads to an increase in emergency room visits and hospitalizations.

Hotter days and heat stress can also lead to insomnia and impact cognitive function. One study observed a group of students during a 12-day heat wave and found that students who lived in air-conditioned dorms had better cognitive function than another group that lived without A/C. These impacts on cognitive function can have implications for larger social well-being and productivity.

What are the best ways to protect residents? What changes might we see inside buildings?

This motion asks for County experts to identify the latest research on how to protect residents and workers in their homes and workplaces. We are now facing unprecedented levels of heat, so we expect that we’ll need new tools to keep communities safe. That’s why exploring new mechanisms like regulating maximum indoor temperature is important. 

Fortunately, there are ways to keep buildings cool that both protect the people inside and help lower emissions so we can limit climate change. So instead of installing traditional air conditioning units in homes that require coolant, we could promote the use of high-efficiency heat pump technology that acts as air conditioning without the harmful refrigerants that contribute to climate change.

Who’s going to pay for all this? Are rents going to go up?

The Board’s motion initiated an exploratory process to identify funding sources and science-based approaches for mandating safe indoor maximum temperatures. Should the Board want to move forward with local regulations, it will certainly consider cost implications alongside the costs of inaction. The Board has taken various actions to ensure that renters were protected during the pandemic and is currently waiting for a report to explore a suite of permanent renter protections.

What other measures is the County to help vulnerable residents deal with heat outside of the home -- in our public places?

We know that vegetation and greenery are excellent tools for combating heat, especially in communities with built environments that trap heat – so-called urban heat islands. That’s why the County is in the midst of an urban forestry master planning process to ensure that programs to build out our urban forest are implemented with intentionality.  The County is also a co-investigator on a study funded by NASA exploring how human health is impacted by extreme heat and higher levels of humidity. Being at the cutting edge of research will help ensure that strategies are data driven.