Temperatures are reaching record-breaking highs on the West Coast, and experts from UCLA shared their concerns with Sierra Sun Times about the changing climate and phenomena like El Niño and heat waves that predict sweltering conditions in the following summer months.

V. Kelly Turner, associate professor of urban planning and geography at UCLA, noted that the early-season heat caught many communities unprepared. She emphasized that such events challenge traditional assumptions about when and how heat should be managed, underscoring the need for more adaptive, year-round planning strategies.

Turner concluded by emphasizing the importance of CalHeat Score, a tool that reveals the risk of the heat on health by using public health data, and called it “an important step in the right direction.”

As temperatures continue to rise, researchers stress that proactive planning and increased awareness will be critical to protecting vulnerable populations and building climate resilience.