Heat wave scale could join weather warning system
“Just as we have air quality alerts ... and red flag warnings for wildfires, California needs a way to warn our residents about extreme heat waves.” State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara
Hurricanes, tornadoes and even atmospheric river storms are ranked, based on their intensity, to help people prepare. Now, legislation that’s expected to be proposed in Sacramento would add heat waves to that list of dangerous-weather rankings.
State Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara said Friday that he will sponsor a proposal by two Southern California legislators to develop a scale for heat waves with categories based on heat intensity and health impacts. The Legislature is not currently in session.
The extreme heat rankings would provide early warnings to communities, allowing them to prepare for hazardous — and potentially deadly — heat waves. While the National Weather Service issues extreme heat warnings, these proposed intensity-based rankings would be the first in the nation, Lara said.
“Just as we have air quality alerts, categories for tropical hurricanes, and red flag warnings for wildfires, California needs a way to warn our residents about extreme heat waves which will only grow deadlier in the years ahead,” Lara said in a statement. “There is no insurance against heat. If we act now to implement a ranking system like we have for other disasters, we can help prevent deaths from this silent killer, especially those most at risk like our seniors.”
While parts of California have long dealt with high temperatures, and authorities caution people to carry water and watch for signs of heatrelated illness, extreme heat has been a suspected cause of death in an increasing number of people hiking or running in high temperatures.
This summer, authorities concluded that Jonathan Gerrish, his wife, Ellen Chung, their 1-yearold child, and dog, who died on a Mariposa County hike in August, succumbed to hyperthermia and dehydration from temperatures that reached 109 degrees. Heat is also suspected in the death of ultra-runner Philip Kreycik on a July run through Pleasanton Ridge Regional Park when the mercury hit 106 degrees, and in the death of 60-year-old San Franciscan Lawrence Stanback as he hiked in 108degree weather to the Red Cathedral in Death Valley National Park in August.
The idea for ranking extreme heat waves emanates from a climate insurance report Lara issued this summer. It suggests ways the insurance industry and government agencies might invest in efforts to reduce risks from climate change, including extreme heat.
“Climate insurance is not some new product you and I would have to buy, but is an issue of how cities and communities would cover future costs,” said Michael Soller, a spokesperson for Lara.
Better communication, including development of an early warning system for heat waves, was one of the recommendations. While the legislation won’t be introduced until the Legislature reconvenes in January, Friday’s announcement from Lara said the heat wave warnings should include categories of magnitude and other details released to the public including geographic location, severity and potential duration.
Recommended precautions, based on the rankings, would accompany the heat wave warnings. For instance, elderly people and those with respiratory illnesses might be advised to decrease physical activity outside, limit electricity use and seek shelter at cooling centers, according to the insurance commissioner’s office.
“Extreme heat is increasing risks to people’s health,” Soller said, “and we need to communicate the risk more effectively so we can prepare and reduce the future costs.”
Assembly Member Luz Rivas, D-North Hollywood (Los Angeles County), said she decided to introduce the legislation while attending the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, Scotland — along with Lara and Rivas’ co-author of the legislation, Assembly Member Eduardo Garcia, D-Coachella (Riverside County) — and learning that other nations are surpassing California’s efforts to combat extreme heat.
“We know this extreme heat phenomenon is not going to end in two years — in fact, it’s going to get worse,” she said in an e-mail to The Chronicle. “I’m excited to (propose legislation) to warn our residents about the danger of upcoming heatwaves ahead of time, because Californians need as much information as possible to prepare for this type of extreme weather event.”
Citing rising heat deaths as well as record temperatures and heatrelated emergency room visits in his desert district, Garcia said it’s necessary to protect residents, including farmworkers, against the increase in scorching temperatures.
“Extreme heat is a matter of life and death in my district and throughout California,” he said.