California Heat Wave: When Will it End?
Once again, California is in the grip of extreme heat.
After a short break from a sweltering summer, the National Weather Service is again issuing Extreme Heat Warnings in California and neighboring states like Arizona.
On August 7th, 2025, temperatures in Phoenix reached 118°, breaking the record for the hottest ever August day in recorded history.
Areas of the Canyon in Los Angeles and Ventura County are in flames from a wildfire that grew from 30 acres to 5000 acres in just hours. Evacuation orders are in place.
Wildfires are nothing new in California, but experts believe that “Fire Season now starts up to 46 days earlier thanks to global warming” and heat waves that are growing more frequent and severe.
Is there any end in sight to California’s extreme heat?
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Global Warming Impacts Extreme Heat Events
Rising global temperatures exacerbate California heat waves.
A recent UCLA study shows that the “duration of heat waves is accelerating faster than climate change.”
UCLA climate scientist David Neelin told the Los Angeles Times, “that even relatively modest warming can significantly boost the risk of powerful, enduring heat waves — underscoring the need to develop strategies to help keep people, agriculture, and infrastructure safe in extreme heat.”
In recent years, the US has made significant progress in reducing reliance on burning fossil fuels to generate electricity and power the nation’s transportation sector.
Burning petroleum products like natural gas, coal, gasoline, and diesel fuel is the leading cause of human-made greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming.
With the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill into law in July 2025, the transition away from fossil fuels in the US will likely slow significantly in the next several years.
The One Big Beautiful Bill Act eliminates clean energy credits for utility-scale and residential projects as of January 1, 2026.
It also ends the $7,500 EV tax credit on September 30th, 2026.
If the scientific census is correct and global warming makes heat waves longer and more severe, dangerously hot California temperatures and devastating wildfires are likely to get worse.
(Source: Cal Fire)
The Statewide Consequences of Extreme Heat
Wildfires
As of August 10, 2025, all evacuation orders stemming from the Canyon Fire have been lifted, and firefighters have achieved 62% containment of the blaze.
Fortunately, this latest Canyon Fire was nowhere near as destructive as the January 2025 wildfires in Altadena, Palisades, and Eaton Park.
However, the fire had still consumed 5,370 acres of land as of August 10th despite being quickly contained.
Cal Fire is still investigating the official cause, but many reports blame the heat wave that began several days before the Canyon Fire for creating ideal conditions for the blaze to spread rapidly.
As of December 17, 2024, California experienced 7,958 wildfires in 2024 with over one million acres burned.
Wildfires in 2025 have already caused significantly more property damage and loss of life, with 16,344 structures destroyed and 31 deaths, up from only one the previous year.
Extreme heat events and rising global temperatures are making California wildfires more frequent and severe.
(Source: Drought.gov)
Water Scarcity and Drought
Heat waves and rising average temperatures are not the only causes of droughts in California, but they do play a role.
Access to sufficient water for the state’s massive agriculture industry and population has long been scarce.
The 2011-2017 California drought was the longest in recorded history and led to the first statewide mandatory water restrictions in 2015.
As of August 5, 2025, approximately 38% (62498 square miles) of California is under drought conditions, and 36% (57672 square miles) is Abnormally Dry.
Starting January 1, 2025, the Making Conservation a California Way of Life Regulation went into place in an effort to make Urban Retail Water Suppliers in the state more efficient and incentivize “expanded storage, [development] of new water supplies… [and a reduced] need for the emergency water use reduction targets that were important in recent droughts.”
(Source: Southern California Edison)
Strain on the Power Grid
Skyrocketing demand for electricity for applications like AI and cloud computing, combined with extreme heat events, is putting unprecedented strain on aging power grid infrastructure across the United States.
Transformers and other utility grid infrastructure components required to transmit electricity through power lines over long distances perform significantly worse in the heat.
Heat waves can lead to utility companies instituting rolling blackouts to protect the grid infrastructure.
If extreme heat lasts for days, it can cause transformers to fail completely, leading to widespread power outages that can be deadly.
(Source: Washington Post)
Not only does extreme heat put transformers and grid infrastructure at risk, but it also causes significant spikes in demand as people rely on air conditioning not just for comfort but for survival.
Public Health Crisis
Extreme heat and humidity put human lives at risk.
Weather reports typically use dry-bulb temperatures, which measure ambient outdoor air temperature.
(Source: ClimateCheck)
Wet-bulb temperatures take humidity into account and give a more accurate measurement of the potential impact of heat stress on the human body.
High wet-bulb temperatures resulting from extreme heat and humidity put people at significant risk, especially vulnerable communities like children and the elderly.
A wet-bulb temperature of around 95°F was long thought to be the theoretical limit for human survival.
However, a recent study found that humans can suffer adverse health events and death at much lower wet-bulb temperatures than previously thought.
According to the study, “Researchers found that the actual maximum wet-bulb temperature is lower — about 31°C wet-bulb or 87°F at 100% humidity — even for young, healthy subjects. The temperature for older populations, who are more vulnerable to heat, is likely even lower.”
Preparing for Extreme Heat Conditions
California residents need to prepare themselves for extreme heat conditions.
Heat waves can descend with little warning, leaving people vulnerable to dangerous and possibly life-threatening outcomes.
The best time to prepare for extreme temperatures is before local authorities or the National Weather Service issue a heat advisory.
Final Thoughts
California heat waves are here to stay.
Extreme heat won’t happen every day, but all the data suggests that heat advisories will occur with greater frequency and intensity for the foreseeable future.
During a heat wave, access to air conditioning is often a necessity, not a luxury.
Heat-related power outages are expected to become more common in California and many other states, like Arizona and Texas.
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