‘We cannot afford to delay’: California to become first state to rank heat waves under new law

California is set to become the first state in the nation to adopt a ranking system meant to emphasize the dangers of sweltering heat waves, under a new law signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday.

Similar to other natural disasters like hurricanes and tornadoes, the new regulation requires the California Environmental Protection Agency to create a ranking system for extreme heat events by Jan. 1, 2025.

The legislation was among a handful of bills Newsom signed on Friday intended to protect Californians from increasingly hazardous heat waves exacerbated by climate change like the one that has pummeled the Golden State for more than a week.

“This week’s unprecedented heat wave is a painful reminder of the costs and impacts of climate change — and it won’t be the last,” Newsom said in a statement. “California is taking aggressive action to combat the climate crisis and build resilience in our most vulnerable communities, including a comprehensive strategy to protect Californians from extreme heat.

“With lives and livelihoods on the line, we cannot afford to delay.”

The other heat-related measures signed by Newsom Friday include:

• AB 1643, which creates an advisory committee to oversee a study on the ramifications of extreme heat on California’s workers, businesses and economy
• SB 852, which allows cities and counties across the state to create “climate resilience districts” with financing power to invest in programs to address climate impacts
• AB 2420, which tasks the state’s Department of Public Health with researching and developing guidance for pregnant women to stay safe outdoors during scorching temperatures

Still, not all of the heat-related measures proposed by lawmakers this legislative session saw the same level of support. Proposals that failed to make it to Newsom’s desk included setting maximum temperature standards and cooling mandates for residential units and creating a chief heat officer role to lead the state’s response to extreme heat.

Naming heat waves like hurricanes

On average, over the past three decades, extreme heat has caused more weather-related deaths annually in the U.S. than any other natural calamity, including flooding, hurricanes and tornadoes, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In order to raise awareness and combat the deadly affects that extreme heat can have on communities, some organizations have been advocating for public officials to begin categorizing and naming heat waves much like hurricanes or winter storms are named across the world.

The Washington D.C.-based nonprofit Adrienne Arsht-Rockefeller Foundation Resilience Center has piloted programs in Spain and Greece to do just that, naming and ranking heat waves from Category 1-3. In July, the organization boasted that Seville, Spain became the first city in the world to categorize and name a heat wave, dubbing it Zoe.

It is unclear at this point how California’s ranking system will be structured and whether heat waves will receive names.

On Friday, the Resilience Center’s director Kathy Baughman McLeod commended the governor for “taking swift action to protect Californians.”

“People do not have to die from heat and this groundbreaking legislation goes a long way toward protecting 40 million Californians with a new, health-based heat warning system,” McLeod said in a statement.

Assemblywoman Luz Rivas, who authored AB 2238, which will create heat wave rankings, thanked the governor in a statement for what she said will “help save the lives of Californians.”

”Unfortunately, each summer we are experiencing extreme heat weather events that are hotter and more devastating than the last,” Rivas said. “... California will now lead the nation with the first advance warning and ranking system for extreme heat waves.”

Insurance Commissioner Ricardo Lara, who sponsored the bill, said California was “once again leading the world in fighting climate change and its deadly effects.”

This story was originally published September 9, 2022 at 3:35 PM with the headline "‘We cannot afford to delay’: California to become first state to rank heat waves under new law."