California’s heat wave could be deadlier because of coronavirus, officials say

Staying indoors without air conditioning is hard enough during a heat wave.

But with stay-at-home orders in place across California due to the coronavirus pandemic, vulnerable people could be at even greater risk, state health officials say.

Southern California’s second heat wave of the year is expected to continue through Thursday night this week as millions of Californians self-isolate during the pandemic, ABC 7 reported. Public health experts worry that staying inside will make the effects of the heat wave worse, especially since the economic effects of the pandemic keep people from turning up the A/C, according to ABC 7.

Low-income residents, Americans with chronic medical conditions and seniors are most at-risk of getting heat-related illnesses, ABC 7 and the Los Angeles Times reported. People who need to stay home the most during the pandemic are at greatest risk of dying during the heat wave, according to the LA Times.

“We have millions of people who are aging alone who feel like they need to stay indoors,” Eric Klinenerg, a professor of sociology at New York University, told the LA Times. “And social isolation combined with extreme heat is a proven killer,”

A recent study from the University of Southern California found that about a third of households in Greater Los Angeles and about half the neighborhoods near the coast lack air conditioning, the LA Times reported. And people who do have air conditioning might be keeping it off to save money amid some of the highest unemployment numbers in the country’s history, according to the LA Times.

The heat drove dozens of people to beaches in Orange County the last week of April, prompting California Gov. Gavin Newsom to “hard close” all beaches and state parks in Orange County, NPR reported. Before photos of people crowding California beaches went viral online, Newsom planned to close all beaches and state parks in the state, but changed course to only closing those in Orange County, according to NPR.

LA County is opening eight cooling centers around the area this week to help people escape the heat, but capacity is limited as the facilities must follow social distancing guidelines, ABC 7 reported. The cooling centers will operate from noon to 6 p.m., although the effects of the heat wave could last until 9 p.m. Thursday, according to E&E News and ABC 7.

Cooler weather is expected to arrive by this weekend as a large low-pressure system moves over the northeast Pacific, E&E reported.

In Arizona, another hot spot that frequently deals with heat waves, air conditioning can be a matter of life and death, even without the threat of the coronavirus, the LA Times reported. A record 264 people died of heat-related illnesses in Arizona in 2017, according to AZcentral.

State public health officials and researchers worry about the state’s homeless populations and people who live in mobile homes built before modern building codes were put in place, according to the LA Times. Usually these people have the option to find cooler spaces in libraries, malls or restaurants, but the coronavirus pandemic has closed most public places, AZcentral reported.

Researchers from the University of Arizona and Arizona State recommend opening specialized coronavirus cooling centers across the state, expanding funding and eligibility for the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program, increasing the supply of clean and safe housing, and deferring rent, loans and utility payments so people don’t feel the need to keep the A/C off, according to AZcentral.