Climate change is transforming the character of the West’s hottest periods — making them more frequent, more persistent, more humid and more lethal. Experts say this shift in heat waves should prompt changes in emergency notifications and public health.
When a major heat wave hits Southern California, it begins with a jab — a ridge of high pressure builds over Nevada or Mexico and sweeps into the region, bringing scorching temperatures along with it.
“Whatever we’re doing isn’t working, and it’s only getting worse,” said Kathy Baughman McLeod, a climate resilience specialist at the Atlantic Council, a Washington think tank. Her organization formed a group of public health experts, governments and nonprofits to push authorities to begin naming and categorizing heat waves, just like hurricanes, and take other steps to better highlight the dangers.
Warm water in the western Pacific Ocean heats the air above it. Winds carry that warm air east toward North America, where a meandering jet stream ensnares it in what is called a high-pressure ridge, or dome. That heat dome can park for weeks over the Western United States, stubbornly blocking cooling weather and keeping it sweltering.Greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of fossil fuels also play a role, not only by fueling higher air temperatures but by warming ocean water.
Environmentalists and other advocates see a disconnect between worsening heat waves and California’s response. They say that, along with slashing emissions, government can save lives by improving communication of the risks to the public and instituting community programs to check on neighbors who are isolated, elderly or medically fragile.Read all of our coverage about how California is neglecting the climate threat posed by extreme heat.
The weather service has updated its approach in the Western U.S. in recent years by issuing advisories, watches and warnings using a new method that forecasts heat risks over the next seven days using a color-coded scale like the air quality index. McMahon said the weather service is working to simplify its messaging on the dangers of extreme heat as part of a “comprehensive strategy for conveying lifesaving heat information.”
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