Historically, here in the valley, there have been four or five days of extreme heat, and the projection is that by the end of the century, there will be 15 times more, so there will be two months of extreme heat. How will more extreme heat in the San Joaquin Valley impact workers who work in the fields? On a day when Merced was set to hit 107 degrees, Civil Eats spoke with Fernandez-Bou about what this means for farmworkers and agriculture in California. He co-authored a report released earlier this year that predicts the annual temperature in the valley will increase 4 to 5 degrees by mid-century, and up to 8 degrees by the end of the century. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration is in the initial stages of creating a federal heat injury and illness prevention.Īs climate change drives more extreme heat in California, Angel Santiago Fernandez-Bou, a postdoctoral scholar in environmental systems at University of California, Merced, says extended heat waves like the one coming up will only increase. Fatal heat-related illnesses have decreased since, according to the state's Occupational Safety and Health Administration, though a recent investigation found understaffing makes it hard to enforce heat protocols, and deaths have continued.

It requires employers to provide water and shade when temperatures climb above 80 degrees. In 2004, a worker in the valley died from heat stroke after he spent 10 hours picking grapes in 105-degree weather, prompting California to enact the first heat standard in the nation.

Farmworkers, who are a majority migrant and Spanish-speaking workforce, die of heat-related causes at a rate of 20 times more than other professions. On Tuesday, the temperature could soar to 112 degrees in parts of this vast, 8-million-acre swath of California that grows much of the nation's fruit and vegetables.Īs Civil Eats has reported, the consequences of this heat can be deadly.

In the San Joaquin Valley, temperatures are expected to stay above 105 degrees for eight days, endangering the 200,000-plus farmworkers who pick the valley's tomatoes, strawberries, and other crops. A scorching heat wave is beginning in California.

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