A new data analysis shared by UCLA on Wednesday shows that Latinos in California disproportionately face the threat of extreme heat and pollution. Researchers say it’s the result of decades of disinvestment that has led to greater health burdens and risks.
Latinos in both Riverside and San Bernardino endured over 100 extreme heat days between 2018 and 2022, according to data gathered by UCLA’s Latino Politics and Policy Institute. The statewide average for Latinos was 60 days.
Latinos in these areas also have higher exposure to particle and diesel pollution from the large concentration of warehousing and logistics, and because of that industry, are more exposed to heat at work and likelier to face illness.
Across the state, Latino neighborhoods face almost twice as many extreme-heat days and are projected to experience even more in the future, raising risks of heat stroke, dehydration, and kidney failure. Latino neighborhoods also had double the rate of emergency department visits for asthma and 1.6 times the rate for heart attacks compared to residents in other neighborhoods.
Julia Silver, a senior research analyst at UCLA, says Latinos are more at risk because they live much closer to these industrial sites and around much more concrete overall. She also says they’re more likely to develop asthma and chronic illness as a result of living in what’s considered “sacrifice zones” by many environmentalists and health care experts.
Silver says lawmakers could alleviate these burdens by investing in green space and clean energy.
“We want to use this data to really empower our politicians and our community based organizations to continue to fight for that investment,” says Silver, “because our data shows us that that continues to be necessary.”
Silver says the data analysis released by UCLA’s Latino Politics and Policy Institute builds on their June 2025 launch of the UCLA Latino Climate and Health Dashboard (LCHD). Data used by researchers includes the American Community Survey, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and CalEnviroscreen. Silver says the team looked at data by neighborhood using census tracts.
Riverside and San Bernardino counties, whose populations are more than half Latino, both rank worst for smog pollution in the country. But extreme heat and bad air pollution impacts all residents, as was the theme of last week’s Extreme Heat Summit at the California Air Resources Board in Riverside. The city’s average yearly temperature could rise three degrees in the next 25 years and ten of the region’s hottest years have come in the past twelve.
Dr. Shunling Tsang, the Family Medicine Department Chair with Riverside University Health Systems, reported 120 days above 90 degrees last year and more than 880 heat-related emergency visits so far this year, which she says is likely an undercount. She outlined the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke and urged quick action when symptoms appear.
Tsang shared cases of seniors on common medications and residents without cooling to show how heat worsens chronic illness. Riverside County has recorded five heat deaths this year and 278 since 2018.
“My call to action is to speak up and advocate for your neighbor as yourself,” said Tsang. “Advocate for more trees, for cooling structures and safe housing. Create heat-emergency plans for where you can go to cool down…libraries, parks…and really think about building a resilient, connected community.”
