As 2026 continues notching heat records, Governor Newsom announces a strategic action plan to address extreme heat in California

California just experienced another triple-digit heat wave, and hotter, drier conditions are fueling devastating impacts across the West, from the Gann Fire burning through Calaveras County to the wildfires drawing state mutual aid north to Washington and Oregon.

“These actions help communities stay safe in heatwaves that we’re experiencing now while investing in long-term solutions as extreme heat becomes more regular,” said California Secretary for Natural Resources Wade Crowfoot. “From helping residents stay safe during heat events to cooling neighborhoods by shading streets and schoolyards to building more reliable energy systems, California is continuing to prepare our communities for a hotter future.”

In the first half of 2026, parts of California experienced unusually early 100-degree days, with some inland communities experiencing triple-digit temperatures months earlier than average. This year could become the hottest on record. 

California is already experiencing signs of that trend, with March 2026 seeing record-setting heat waves and unusually high temperatures earlier than ever before. Scientists agree that temperatures will continue to rise throughout California, with the greatest impacts falling on the state’s most vulnerable populations.

2026 Extreme Heat Action Plan sets a course of action

Guided by input from communities statewide, the 2026 Extreme Heat Action Plan outlines current efforts to reduce dangers of extreme heat, recommends future actions to build resilience, and details progress made in recent years to better protect Californians from rising temperatures. The plan is organized around four action tracks:

• Build public awareness and notification: Partnering with heat-vulnerable communities, expanding multilingual outreach, and increasing access to state-of-the-art decision-making resources, like CalHeatScore, Ready California, and the Vulnerable Communities Platform, to support planning for heat events.

• Strengthen community services and response: Supporting heat-vulnerable communities, including households, workers, Tribes, and people experiencing homelessness, by funding resilience and response efforts that prioritize local decision-making and collaborative partnerships. 

• Increase resilience of our built environment: Reducing strain on the electrical grid, preventing power outages, and keeping essential services running during extreme heat events through smarter building materials, stronger energy systems, underground power lines, and local backup power systems.

• Utilize nature-based solutions: Scaling nature-based solutions that cool neighborhoods and schools, and build the resilience of California’s natural systems to higher temperatures.

How we got here

California’s first Extreme Heat Action Plan, released in 2022, established the state’s first all-of-government framework to address extreme heat as a growing threat to people, infrastructure, and nature. Senate Bill 306 (Caballero), signed by Governor Newsom in 2023, required California to update its Extreme Heat Action Plan every three years to help strengthen coordination, accountability, and statewide action on the extreme heat. SB 306 also directs the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation (LCI) and the California Natural Resources Agency to coordinate the statewide update process in partnership with agencies across California.

“Extreme heat impacts nearly every part of daily life, from public health and emergency response to housing, infrastructure, energy, and the economy,” said LCI Director Sam Assefa. “This updated plan helps ensure state agencies are working from the same playbook to better prepare for and respond to rising temperatures across California.”

Key accomplishments under the Newsom administration

Since the last Extreme Heat Action Plan was released, the Newsom administration, in collaboration with the Legislature, has expanded investments, strengthened emergency response coordination, improved public awareness efforts, and invested in long-term resilience projects in communities across California.

• Expanded access to climate and heat projection tools like CalHeatScore and the Vulnerable Communities Platform to help local governments and communities better plan for future heat risks.

• Increased investments in urban greening, shade, cooling infrastructure, and climate-resilient buildings to reduce heat impacts in neighborhoods most vulnerable to extreme temperatures.

• Improved statewide coordination around extreme heat planning, emergency response, worker safety, and public health preparedness through an all-of-government approach.

• Established and expanded the Extreme Heat and Community Resilience Program to support locally driven projects focused on cooling, emergency response, and protecting vulnerable communities. The first round of funding in fiscal year 2024-25 awarded nearly $32 million across 45 projects, and Round 2 is in the works.

• Launched the Tribal Capacity Building Program to help tribes secure long-term funding and create more resilient and heat-safe housing. In the first round, the program awarded a total of $1.45 million to six pilot round grantees. The second round is open for applications.

• Set California’s first nature-based solutions (NBS) targets to build landscape health through 2045, with the goals of building nature’s resilience to climate impacts such as heat and supporting achievement of carbon neutrality no later than 2045.

Dangers of extreme heat

Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the nation, claiming more lives annually than any other climate threat, including fires and floods. In 2024, California communities experienced the hottest summer on record in 130 years. According to a report from the Department of Insurance, from 2013 to 2022, seven extreme heat events resulted in nearly 460 deaths, over 5,000 hospitalizations, and about 344 adverse birth outcomes.

State reports show a correlation between heat and a range of negative health effects, including death, lower birth weight, and increased emergency room visits and hospitalizations for conditions ranging from heart conditions to poor mental health. Extreme heat also takes an economic toll on the state, with an estimated $7.7 billion of lost wages, agricultural disruptions, and power outages from 2013 to 2022.

Staying safe during extreme heat 

For more information on fire safety and general preparedness, visit Ready.ca.gov 

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