Los Angeles County Adopts Heat Action Plan

From bus stop shade to more trees to cooler apartments, a wide-ranging plan designed to combat extreme weather and heat was adopted by the county Board of Supervisors Tuesday.

The county’s Heat Action Plan was described as a blueprint for combating rising temperatures and extreme heat events, but supervisors said it represents much more.

“The county’s Heat Action Plan is not just a blueprint — it’s a commitment to support Angelenos as we navigate a rising trend in extreme heat events,” Board of Supervisors Chair Hilda Solis said in a statement following the vote. “Now more than ever, the actions we take today to protect our residents will ensure we create cooler and healthier neighborhoods in the future, while advancing heat resilience.”

Among the items included in the action plan are an effort to install shade structures at all L.A. County bus stops by 2050, achieve a 20% tree canopy in unincorporated areas by 2050, enforcing a new ordinance requiring apartments to be kept under 82 degrees, and boosting the number of available cooling centers by 30%, reaching 234 across the region by 2045.

Officials said extreme heat contributes to more than 200 deaths per year in Los Angeles County, and contributes to $5 billion in lost worker productivity annually. The county estimated that daily temperatures in the county will rise nearly 5 degrees by 2050, and the number of annual heat- related deaths could more than triple in that time.

“The county Heat Action Plan will protect residents — especially renters and families in hotter areas like the San Fernando Valley — who are already bearing the brunt of rising temperatures, limited shade, and inadequate home cooling,” Supervisor Lindsey P. Horvath said. “This plan builds on our first-in-the-nation tenant protections from extreme heat and prioritizes the physical and social infrastructure necessary to adapt to our changing climate.”