The National Weather Service has issued an excessive heat warning for many parts of the U.S. this week. Parts of LA, like the San Fernando Valley, are headed for triple-digit temperatures this weekend.
Heat negatively affects some people more than others — UCLA Heat Lab Director Bharat Venkat looks at it as “thermal inequality.”
It’s simple to advise people to turn on air conditioning, but in low-income communities of color, where the percentage of renters is high, A/C availability is low, he points out. Even if A/C is an option, people hesitate to use it because it’s expensive, which scholars call “energy poverty.”
That’s where the federal government has stepped in, offering the Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program (LIHEAP), which has helped more than 6 million U.S. households lower their energy bills, Venkat notes. And at the California Legislature, there’s a push for a right to cooling. The LA City Council is also considering a requirement for landlords to provide A/C in rental units like they do heat.
“We tend to think about air conditioning as a luxury. It's something that if you're wealthier, you can enjoy. But really, as we see increasing temperatures, air conditioning is going to become a necessity,” Venkat emphasizes.
But if everyone is running A/C, blackouts can happen. Thus, he points out, UCLA shut down some of its facilities last year to ensure that the power grid wasn’t overstretched. He says in the future, there must be a push for renewables, and priority given to low-income communities of color when deciding where energy should flow amid heat waves.
Although LA has many cooling facilities — including libraries, shopping malls, and community centers with A/C — it can be tough to get people there, especially seniors and unhoused Angelenos. “Going door to door or even going around to unhoused communities and saying, ‘This is available to you, and you can bring your stuff with you’ — is going to be a really critical way to make sure that those people are kept safe.”
What signs should people look for when it comes to heat-related illnesses?
“It could be something as simple as feeling a bit dehydrated, or feeling tired, or feeling just a little bit too hot. What I say to folks is that if you start to feel a little bit uncomfortable, take a minute and pause and consider: What are your surroundings? Are you in a place that's hotter? Do you have a way of getting cooler? Can you drink water? Can you put on lighter clothes? Can you go be with others in a place that is cooler? Because the symptoms are really hard to distinguish from ordinary, everyday symptoms for a range of other conditions.”