As second heat wave sears California, experts say health impacts will worsen with climate change

Los Angeles Times  –

As the second major heat wave in weeks bears down on Southern California, experts and authorities are warning the public to take seriously the health dangers of extreme temperatures that are only getting worse due to climate change.  Though extreme heat is a less visible menace than, say, hurricanes or wildfires, it is climate change’s most life-threatening impact, causing more deaths each year in the United States than any other weather-related problem, including all floods and storms combined.  “Of all the climate change exposures we study, heat is the No. 1 killer,” Rupa Basu, chief of air and climate epidemiology for the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, said in an interview last month.