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Extreme Heat

In Southern California and throughout the world, heat waves are becoming more frequent and more extreme — a trend largely attributed to climate change. Here's how dangerously high temperatures contribute to an extended wildfire season in California and create new health threats.

The sun rises behind the Cholla Cactus garden in Joshua Tree National Park
Hottest global temperature highlights climate change effects
Clip
5:54
PBS News Hour

Hottest global temperature highlights climate change effects

Cars drive along Badwater Road in Death Valley National Park, past evidence of flash flooding including debris and cracked dirt
Article

Welcome to the New Abnormal: Looking Back at a Summer of Extreme Heat, Floods and Climate Change

A composite illustration of a thermometer, $100 bills, credit cards and and checks overlaid on a globe map with a red-orange gradient in the background
Article

Five Ways Climate Change Made Our Lives More Expensive in 2022

Climate Change

A man pours water on his face as he looks up
'The Results Will Be Dire': Extreme Heat to Impact a Quarter of U.S. by Midcentury
Marta Seguar stands with her arms crossed against a wall
L.A.’s First Heat Officer Says Helping Vulnerable Communities Is Key to Achieving Climate Goals
electrical-power-line-towers-are-seen-in-los-angeles-california
Climate Change Is a Component of Disasters — but That’s Not the Whole Story
The Hollywood sign in Los Angeles, California.
Beyond Doom and Gloom: How Can Hollywood Tell More Climate Stories?
Calls for climate action grow amid U.S., Europe heat waves
3:02
PBS News Hour
Calls for climate action grow amid U.S., Europe heat waves
Climate change is worsening heat waves in oceans
4:23
PBS News Hour
Climate change is worsening heat waves in oceans
Operations Section Chief Jon Wallace wearing a yellow jacket looks at and reached out to touch the protective foil wrapping around a big sequoia tree called General Sherman at Sequoia National Park, California
California Moves on Climate Change, but Rejects Aggressive Cuts to Greenhouse Emissions

Wildfire Season

Why Are SoCal Wildfires Getting Worse?
2:00
Season 2024 Episode 29
SoCal Matters
Why Are SoCal Wildfires Getting Worse?
Firefighters' work puts them at higher risk of cancer
9:32
PBS News Hour
Firefighters' work puts them at higher risk of cancer
Global climate crisis hits home amid wildfires, heat wave
8:04
PBS News Hour
Global climate crisis hits home amid wildfires, heat wave
Three members of the Tule River Tribe inspect a historic cultural site impacted by wildfire
Wildfire Management and Recovery on Tribal Lands Complicated by Policy Inequities
Giant Sequoia trees in Mariposa Grove, Yosemite National Park, California; smoke from Ferguson Fire visible in the air
Forest Service Announces Emergency Plan to Save Giant Sequoias
A home burns the town of Paradise, California, on Nov. 8, 2018.
California Towns Scramble to Prevent Next Wildfire Catastrophe
Embracing ‘controlled burns’ to protect wildfire-prone areas
10:09
PBS News Hour
Embracing ‘controlled burns’ to protect wildfire-prone areas

Workplace Conditions

A dark grayish-blue van bearing the Amazon arrow symbol and the word "prime" sits parked in a lot for a Firestone store on a sunny day with a bright blue sky
Extreme Heat Prompts First-Ever Amazon Delivery Driver Strike
Sugar cane workers in India | Photo: Jean Marc-Giboux for International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, some rights reserved
Earth Focus
Climate Change Is Already Killing Farm Workers Around The World
Why Firefighters Keep Getting Sick From Training | Sept. 21
2:00
SoCal Update
Why Firefighters Keep Getting Sick From Training | Sept. 21
Two workers wearing neon vests and helmets, with one of them holding a water bottle.
6:10
Democracy Now!
Texas Governor Outlaws Life-Saving Water Breaks for Workers as Climate Crisis Fuels Heat Waves

Health In Harm's Way

Why extreme heat is more dangerous than many realize
6:38
PBS News Hour
Why extreme heat is more dangerous than many realize
An aerial view of a large collection of oil refinery tanks at dusk, with pollution clouding up the sky.
Report: Health Effects of Climate Change 'Unfolding Now'
A row of palm trees stands against the backdrop of a sky full of smoke from a wildfire.
Extreme Heat and Air Pollution Can Be Deadly, With the Health Risk Together Worse Than Either Alone
A boy on an athletic field wipes his sweaty forehead while holding a bottle of water.
'Children Are Not Little Adults' and Need Special Protection During Heat Waves
Record heat wave in the U.S. raises public health concerns
6:29
PBS News Hour
Record heat wave in the U.S. raises public health concerns
A masked little girl stands nearly waist-deep in flooding waters.
Climate Change Is Making More Than Half of Infectious Diseases Worse
walmart cool roof.jpg
Departures
Fighting to Keep L.A.'s Cool: Climate Change and the Plan for a Healthy City
Sugar cane workers in India | Photo: Jean Marc-Giboux for International AIDS Vaccine Initiative, some rights reserved
Earth Focus
Climate Change Is Already Killing Farm Workers Around The World
a man rides his bike across an intersection and the air in hazy
The Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke Hit Vulnerable People Harder
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Latest

A man pours water on his face as he looks up
'The Results Will Be Dire': Extreme Heat to Impact a Quarter of U.S. by Midcentury
Some 107 million Americans will experience heat index temperatures above 125 degrees F by 2053, according to a new report.
A boy on an athletic field wipes his sweaty forehead while holding a bottle of water.
'Children Are Not Little Adults' and Need Special Protection During Heat Waves
After more than a week of record-breaking temperatures across much of the country, public health experts are cautioning that children are more susceptible to heatstroke than adults are — even more so when they're playing sports, living without air conditioning or waiting in a parked car.
Marta Seguar stands with her arms crossed against a wall
L.A.’s First Heat Officer Says Helping Vulnerable Communities Is Key to Achieving Climate Goals
Marta Segura has been appointed the first chief heat officer of Los Angeles to coordinate a response to extreme heat — including heat-risk prevention, reducing heat exposure and developing cooling strategies.
Tree and Smoky Sky, Obscured Sun
In California, the Heat Is Already On
Scientists, doctors and some California politicians say climate change has arrived, and unless something is done to curtail it, the heat will continue to get worse.
Los Angeles looking hot with sun in background
26:34
Episode 1006
Heat
How hot will your neighborhood get? "SoCal Connected" looks at the ground-level effects of climate change on southern California.
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