As I read so much news coverage on the extreme heat we're experiencing in California this week, I'm reminded that many Californians have long been concerned about dangerously high temperatures and heat waves, and the effect weather and heat has on their health and the health of family members. My own family in the Central Valley included.
I appreciate outlets like the Los Angeles Times naming that heat gets treated differently and too often the connections to health are not emphasized. For example, in today's LA Times Essential California newsletter: "Extreme heat may not get the same news coverage as hurricanes or wildfires, but it kills more people than any other weather event."
"A 2022 heat wave killed an estimated 395 people in California, according to state health officials."
"Extreme heat disproportionately affects children and the elderly, people with chronic illnesses, disabled people and those who are pregnant. And of course construction workers, landscapers, agricultural workers and others who work outdoors are at heightened risk of heat-related illnesses."
All this to say: Heat *is* a health issue. And I hope policymakers consider how we can better support people's health ahead of heat waves and extreme weather.
At the California Health Care Foundation, a survey on we did in fall 2023 found extreme weather is a growing health issue for Californians.
➡ More than half of Californians (53%) say they are worried about the effects of environmental factors such as extreme heat, floods, wildfires, and poor air quality on the physical or mental health of someone in their family. And that number climbs to 65% for Californians with low incomes.
➡ Nearly 6 in 10 Central Valley residents (58%) and about two in three Central Valley residents with low incomes (67%) and Latino/x Central Valley residents (64%) are worried about the effect of weather and environmental factors on their or a family member’s physical or mental health.
Learn more in our health policy surveys: https://lnkd.in/gGip8Sx5
#heat #climate #healthcare