On this edition of Your Call’s One Planet Series, we're discussing the disproportionate effects of climate driven extreme heat on the most vulnerable groups, including farmworkers, low-income communities, and the elderly.
By midcentury, given slow or no action to reduce global heat-trapping emissions, the increased intensity, frequency, and geographic extent of extreme heat would cause a three- to fourfold increase in the exposure of outdoor workers to days with a heat index—or “feels like” temperature—above 100°F, the point at which the CDC recommends that work hours begin to be reduced, according to the Union of Concerned Scientists.
Guest:
Dr. Kristina Dahl, climate scientist for the Climate & Energy program at the Union of Concerned Scientists
Web Resources:
The Union of Concerned Scientists: Too Hot to Work
NPR: The extreme heat in California is causing disruptions in the state's classrooms
The Sacramento Bee: A quarter of California homes had no A/C this heat wave. It could stay that way for years
The Guardian: ‘Can’t afford to live’: California heatwave leaves older adults teetering on edge
