Extreme Heat Resilience

Extreme heat is becoming more frequent and more intense, here and around the world. In July 2023, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned, “The era of global warming has ended, the era of global boiling has arrived.” Knowing how to prepare for extreme heat, and how to stay cool when it hits, matters more than ever.

Here on the California Central Coast, the change is coming fast. Under a medium-emissions scenario, Ventura County is projected to see about 20 extreme heat days a year by mid-century, up from 4 or 5 a year historically. Higher temperatures put people at serious risk, especially farmworkers and others who work outdoors, children, and older adults.

“Extreme heat causes more deaths annually than any other climate impact in California. The combination of an extreme heat wave and power outages could present a large-scale tragedy for our most vulnerable residents.”

—Em Johnson
Director of Climate Resilience, CEC

WHat CEC is Doing

Community Resilience Hubs

Schools, community centers, churches, and libraries can be lifelines during climate disasters. On the California Central Coast, community resilience hubs help communities stay safe during wildfire smoke events, extreme heat, flooding, and more. Learn more.

Ventura County Heat Action Plan

Ventura County is preparing for a hotter future. The County is developing a countywide heat action plan in partnership with CEC, the Mixteco Indígena Community Organizing Project, and other community groups. People who work outdoors, older adults, people with low incomes, people experiencing homelessness, and people with chronic health conditions face the highest risk from extreme heat.That’s why CEC is working on a Ventura County Heat Action Plan that will:

Identify and assess heat vulnerabilities and risk awareness
Develop and implement an educational campaign with public health
Develop a heat alert system framework with a farmworker resource hub
Fund and finance heat action
Implement a cooling kit program
Create a countywide heat action plan and adopt through county agency partners

Extreme Heat Resilience Alliance

CEC is a partner in this global initiative led by Atlantic Council’s Arsht-Rock Foundation. EHRA supports local, regional, and national governments with reducing the risks and impacts of extreme heat to their residents. Two science panels advised EHRA on its work, with fields of heat-related preparedness, governance, and response who had been working on this issue for decades. EHRA brings together experts from a range of fields including climate, meteorology, human health, and social and behavioral science. EHRA also works with governments through its Global Champions for Heat Action (GCHA) platform, which contains two tracks for engaging mayors and other decision-makers: Core Partners and Champion Cities.

CEC joins over 60 organizations and individuals whose work is critical to addressing the impacts of extreme heat including community partners, policymakers and practitioners, experts on climate science, public health, disaster response, engineering, architecture, insurance and finance. EHRA is an opportunity to share your work and expertise and learn from others but also to find great partners to advance your initiatives to build resilience to heat and new collaborative projects.

HOW TO TAKE ACTION

Learn About Extreme Heat

Read this Op-Ed about the impact of Extreme Heat on our senior community and how you can hel p.

Watch CEC’s webinar, Beat the Heat: Lessons Learned from the Fastest Warming County in the Nation And How You Can Ensure Neighbors are Safe When Temperatures Rise
Learn about the work to create Community Resilience Hubs.
Read a blog about work underway to build Community Resilience Hubs.
Read about California’s Heat Action Plan .
Watch the StoryCenter series of personal stories from agricultural workers
Listen to the Radio Indigena - Community Hour on Heat
Read Ventura County’s report Farmworkers at Risk: The Growing Dangers of Pesticides and Heat
The California Communities Extreme Heat Scoring System (CalHeatScore) is built for Californians to raise awareness of extreme heat impacts and to connect communities to locally relevant resources to keep themselves safe. Check the score.

Learn How You Can Protect Your Neighbors

Watch CEC’s inaugural Extreme Heat Forum aimed at empowering seniors to protect themselves during heat events and to engage with community resilience activities in their communities. Check out the resource tool shared at the event.