A blistering September heat wave roasted residents for a week and drove temperatures to 112 in Downtown Los Angeles, one degree shy of the record set 14 years ago.
Some residents left their homes in search of buildings with air conditioning. Others, living on the streets, soaked their clothes in drinking fountains in local parks in an effort to cool off.
In MacArthur Park, Michael Martinez crouched shirtless in a sliver of shade cast by a short palm tree. He sipped water mixed with a red hydration additive from a plastic jug.
“Why is the weather changing, why does it seem hotter than it’s ever been?” Martinez groaned, sweat beading on his shaved scalp, tattooed with a Dodgers-style “LA.” Despite two decades living on the street, he said he had never felt such heat.
For Angelenos who don’t live on the coast, long-lasting extreme heat is the “primary climate hazard” they face, according to the city’s Climate Emergency Mobilization Office. Concrete and asphalt absorb heat while a lack of trees means less shade and cooling water vapor.
Months before the post-Labor Day heat spell, Gov. Gavin Newsom slashed millions of dollars from programs that would have helped cities adapt to extreme heat.
Prodded by Newsom, the California Legislature rescinded or delayed $209.9 million for programs to prepare for climate disasters such as extreme heat waves, devastating wildfires, Pacific Ocean storm surges and floods. Half the cuts targeted programs to expand cooling centers and implement long-term solutions, such as increasing the shade canopy and using building materials that deflect the sun’s rays.
The Governor’s Office of Planning and Research said the cuts won’t impact grant funding this year. But they will impact future funding rounds. One program to support heat planning in vulnerable communities in California was canceled — resulting in a Los Angeles-based proposal getting scrapped.
Voters, however, could claw back some of the funding if they approve Proposition 4, a $10 billion bond, on the Nov. 5 ballot. The bond would pay for a wide swath of climate-focused capital infrastructure. It is supported by the Nature Conservancy and other environmental groups. Newsom hasn’t weighed in on Prop. 4.
The bond includes $3.8 billion to build out infrastructure to recycle water and improve flood control systems such as levees; $1.5 billion to limit damage from wildfires by clearing forest vegetation and fire-proofing buildings, among other preparatory measures; and $1.2 billion for fortifying the state’s coast in the face of rising sea levels.
A smaller amount, $450 million, is earmarked for combating extreme heat. For residents of Los Angeles — home to the state’s biggest voting bloc — memories of the miserable September swelter may still be fresh when they head to the polls.
The bond restores half the money cut from the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program, which coordinates efforts to address extreme heat and so-called urban heat islands. About $200 million is set aside for green spaces in “park-poor communities,” and the rest would go to a program that uses cap-and-trade fees to pay for things such as cooling surfaces and tree planting.
This year’s budget downsizing meant that a plan to “cultivate leadership at the neighborhood level” to put helpful information into residents’ hands during heat waves would not be funded either, said Maro Kakoussian, director of Climate & Health Programs for Physicians for Social Responsibility Los Angeles.
The group’s proposal, co-submitted with Los Angeles County’s Department of Public Health, would have assisted residents by connecting them with resources such as cooling centers and involving them in city-wide heat preparations in South Los Angeles, Wilmington, and Pacoima, communities which historically “haven’t been invested in,” said Kakoussian.
Even with the bond, these kinds of initiatives still may not see new financing. The bond would fund only capital-intensive projects, such as the construction of more cooling centers. It is not intended to pay for additional staff who could spread the word about these resources.
On Sept. 6, the heat wave’s peak, gaps in local emergency plans for heat events were apparent.
A county notification about “dangerous heat” didn’t go out until the following day, and only then to those who had already opted to receive such notifications. A website featuring a map with cooling centers — mostly public libraries — splash pads and hydration stations was too small to discern and difficult to navigate on a phone.
At the Lincoln Heights Senior Center, one of four cooling centers in the city designed to shelter more people than most libraries, a chatty group seated at a long table planned to stay until the sun went down. Most already frequented the center to play games of lotería, eat lunch and engage in activities including yoga.
Sitting alone with a stack of books at another table was Jorge Reyes, a retired food server for a hotel. The home he shares with his two adult sons once had a window air conditioner, but the electricity bills were too expensive.
During past heat waves, Reyes, who said his blood pressure is aggravated by the heat, sometimes visited grocery stores and a Rite-Aid just to stay cool. But here he could sit down comfortably. He found the location by googling “public cooling centers.”
“We need more announcements and information in Spanish,” Reyes said, noting that only a couple dozen people had visited the center.
Both the city and county submitted grant applications to the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program to spruce up parks and build notification systems and maps of cooling centers. The city requested money to marshal first responders to deliver medical aid to communities and unhoused people during heat waves.
Spokespeople for the city and county declined to say how much they requested. Abby Edwards, the manager of the state’s Adaptation Planning Grant Program, said the extreme heat program will award $20 million in grants this fall.
Los Angeles hopes to roll out a Heat Action and Resilience Plan by late 2026 depending on “budget constraints.” The initiative would help communities adapt and strengthen resilience to extreme heat.
Meanwhile, greenhouse gases continue to trap heat in the atmosphere, altering the climate. Los Angeles will continue to see more days with temperatures above 90 F, according to a state climate assessment.
Opponents of the climate bond have balked at its cost. The state of California will have to pay bond purchasers about $6 billion in interest on top of the principal.
And some of those purchasers will likely be banks that also fund fossil fuel projects, which emit most of the world’s climate pollution — possibly negating, in a broad sense, state climate measures.
But the bond nudges California in the right direction, even if it will pay only for infrastructure and not outreach or administrative costs, said Melissa Romero, deputy legislative director for California Environmental Voters.
“The climate bond is something additional and not in replacement of funding needed from the general fund every year,” Romero said.
