Extreme heat is not the only climate change impact Nevadans are feeling

Las Vegas saw its all-time hottest temperature on record of 120 degrees Fahrenheit on July 7. That week, the city also set a record streak with seven days at or above 115 degrees—and we're still seeing highs above 110 in August.

Those temps will continue to climb in the years to come, thanks to climate change. According to 2022 data from nonprofit research group Climate Central, Las Vegas has warmed nearly six degrees Fahrenheit since 1970, making it the second-fastest warming city in the U.S. The fastest is our northern neighbor, Reno, which has warmed 7.7 degrees since 1970.

And according to the New York Times, Vegas' nighttime temperatures have been getting hotter "much faster" than its days, due to an urban heat island effect that's trapping daytime heat in impermeable surfaces—roads, dark rooftops, asphalt parking lots—and releasing that heat at night.

Temperature trends aren't the only data that reflect the impacts of global warming; data on heat-related hazards and even deaths paint a harrowing picture.

Nevada's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has seen a surge in heat complaints since 2021. During 2015-2020, the agency had 118 average annual heat complaints. During 2021-2023, the agency had 330 average annual complaints—more than double the average annual complaints compared to the six years prior. In 2024, OSHA has already received 350 complaints, and summer temperatures are still going strong.

Annual heat-related deaths in Southern Nevada have also risen. During 2010-2016, the Clark County Coroner's Office recorded an annual average of 50 heat-related deaths. During 2017-2023, that average nearly quadrupled to 187. As of August 13, the Coroner's Office counted 123 deaths in which heat was a factor so far this year.

Nevadans are feeling climate change in many other aspects of their lives.

UNEVEN IMPACT

We're all feeling the heat, but we're not all feeling it equally. Every day, I drive my air-conditioned car to my job at an air-conditioned office, and I come home to an air-conditioned apartment. For those who don't have their own transportation, work outside or are homeless, extreme heat is a completely different experience.

"Imagine you're out there 12 hours a day when the sun's up," says Robert Banghart, outreach director for Shine A Light Foundation.

The nonprofit organization does weekly outreach to the homeless, especially to people living in the storm drains trying to escape the heat. The group estimates that 1,200 to 1,500 people live in the tunnels, where it's about 10 degrees cooler than surface temperatures and away from direct sunlight.

"It has been a very brutal summer. What we see typically, but just in more extremes is, they're thin. They're dehydrated. They're a little bit more edgy," he says.

Construction workers, landscapers and others who work outside are also more vulnerable to excessive heat. Al Lopez, local organizer with the sheet metal workers union SMART Local 88, worked on roofs installing HVAC systems for 18 years before he started working full time for the union.

"Unfortunately, [OSHA] just [doesn't] have the manpower to be able to keep an eye on everybody. And sometimes, it's a little too late. By the time they do hear about it, it's after somebody's already had heatstroke, [which] can happen pretty frequently in our trade," Lopez tells the Weekly.

Prolonged exposure to heat above 90 degrees increases the risk of heat exhaustion and heatstroke. According to the World Health Organization, the strain put on the body as it tries to cool itself also stresses the heart and kidneys, meaning people with chronic conditions like heart disease or diabetes are more likely to suffer from acute kidney injury.

According to the Southern Nevada Heat Resilience Lab, extreme heat events impact populations differently based on their socio-economic status, ethnicity, vocation and other characteristics. The Desert Research Institute-based lab researches best practices for extreme heat management and public response.

Lab lead Ariel Choinard says the sheer ability to cool oneself is a privilege that not all can afford. Air conditioning costs money, and tends to be more expensive in the summer and during times of extreme heat. Some people can't afford the jump in their bill.

"We know for a fact that people make really tough trade-offs when it's hot. They trade off between affording to cool their home to a safe, liveable temperature or put food on the table, or afford their medications. If you're somebody who is reliant on public transportation, people skip doctors appointments, or put off necessary things like grocery shopping," Choinard says.

"This has such an impact on very normal day-to-day activities and the health of households in our urban heat island neighborhoods."

She brings up the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada's (RTC) findings on urban heat islands, or areas that are hotter than their surrounding areas due to large amounts of dark and impermeable surfaces and lack of vegetation. A 2022 RTC study found that the Valley's highest temperatures are generally concentrated in the urban core (including Downtown and the Historic Westside neighborhood) and East Las Vegas—predominantly Black and Latino neighborhoods.

Photo: Dr. Justine Overacker / Courtesy

The study also found that these urban heat islands can be up to 11 degrees hotter than the Valley's coolest neighborhoods and feel up to 30 degrees hotter when factoring in humidity.

Since that 2022 study, the RTC has done a few things to mitigate the effects of urban heat islands for bus riders, says Andrew Kjellman, senior director for RTC's Metropolitan Planning Organization. He cites annual service changes, installing more shade structures and redesigning streets to be more comfortable for pedestrians and bicyclists.

"We look at tweaking routes for frequency updates, meaning the bus comes more often," he tells the Weekly. "The No. 1 thing our riders told us in terms of adapting to the extreme heat is they just want the bus to come more often."

Currently, about half of the RTC's 3,695 bus stops have shelters. Kjellman says bus shelters can provide shaded areas that are at least 20 degrees cooler.

In the next year, the RTC plans to roll out 300 new bus shelters, "[and] 70% of those are going to go into the hottest 30% of the Valley," he adds. The project will be funded in large part by the Federal Transit Administration.

RTC's Complete Streets projects and initiatives are redesigning roadways to be more comfortable for pedestrians and bicyclists by adding wider sidewalks, more crosswalks and street trees. The RTC kicked off construction on the Maryland Parkway Bus Rapid Transit Project on August 5, which will feature street trees "on both sides of the street and the center median.

"That's really going to help cool that corridor," Kjellman says.

At the federal level, U.S. Sen. Jacky Rosen has introduced the Extreme Heat Emergency Act in Congress, which would make extreme heat eligible for Major Disaster Declaration by the President and make more federal funding available for Nevada to respond to extreme heat. And Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev., has introduced the Extreme Weather and Heat Response Modernization Act, which would allow the Federal Emergency Management Agency to expand its suite of mitigation measures against extreme heat, including cooling centers.

STRAIN ON THE POWER GRID

Not only is climate change making excessive heat worse; it's straining power infrastructure across the U.S.

My mother, who lives in Houston, had a two-day power outage after Hurricane Beryl swept through the city July 8, destroying power lines and resulting in outages for more than 2.2 million people. She described the heat—in the upper 90s, which with humidity feels like 106 degrees Fahrenheit—as "oppressive" and lamented the fact that most of the food in the refrigerator had spoiled.

But she was thankful that her power was restored relatively quickly, compared to some customers who were without power for more than a week. And she was grateful she was healthy enough to withstand it. Seniors and people with electric medical devices were especially vulnerable during the outages. Some senior care facilities had trouble getting residents into areas with working air conditioning.

In the desert Southwest during summer, power outages are more likely to happen when everyone is cranking up their AC and straining the power grid—during times of extreme heat, that is. Depending on how long the outage lasts, it can be life-threatening and impact medical infrastructure.

According to a 2023 study published in the scientific journal Environmental Science & Technology, if a five-day heat wave and blackout power outage hit Phoenix at the same time, more than half of the city's population could end up in the emergency room.

Nevada's power grid has experienced some strain in the past, although the state's primary power utility NV Energy says there are "no concerns about energy supply at this time." NV Energy did have some concerns in 2021 when it sent out mass notices to customers asking them to conserve energy during peak time by turning off lights and appliances and not charging electric vehicles from 6-9 p.m. But today, new solar and battery resources (which store renewable energy and release it when needed) are helping on peak energy days, NV Energy spokeswoman Meghin Delaney said in an email.

"Earlier this year, NV Energy brought a new battery energy storage system online at the site of the former Reid Gardner coal plant. The project is a 220-megawatt two-hour grid-tied battery system and is the largest standalone battery project of its kind in Nevada. The batteries can be charged and discharged based on generation elsewhere in NV Energy's system, and is already helping serve NV Energy's peak load, particularly in the summer," Delaney said.

Adding renewable energy to Nevada's portfolio has been a goal since 2001 when the Legislature created the first renewable portfolio standard, which is a statutory requirement to have a certain percentage of the energy sold in the state be renewable. The Legislature in 2019 increased that requirement to 100% renewable energy by 2050. Currently, Nevada's portfolio is at about 39% renewable energy.

NV Energy expects power demand to grow by nearly one-third from 2025 to 2034. To accommodate the increase in demand, NV Energy is proposing a mix of energy sources including more than 1,000 new megawatts of solar energy and more than 1,000 new megawatts of battery storage, along with approximately 400 megawatts of natural gas-powered "peaking units" to be used in times of peak demand.

"These [present] a balanced portfolio of resources that will reduce NV Energy's reliance on expensive market resources and help to further reduce our customers' exposure to natural gas price volatility," Delaney said.

The natural gas part of the portfolio is a sticking point for conservation advocates like the Nevada Conservation League. Although natural gas produces less greenhouse gas emissions than coal, it's still a fossil fuel pumping carbon into the atmosphere and contributing to climate change. Conservationists would like to see the state continue to phase out of using natural gas and all fossil fuels, and shift to renewable energy.

"Decarbonizing the grid is really necessary to make all the electrification that we're trying to do meaningful. We don't want to be charging our electric vehicles and power electric appliances with coal. We want to be doing it with clean, homegrown energy made right here in the state," says Christi Cabrera-Georgeson, Deputy Director of Nevada Conservation League.

Last year, Nevada Gov. Joe Lombardo withdrew Nevada from the U.S. Climate Alliance, which set benchmarks for the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with 24 other states in the alliance. The Republican governor said the alliance conflicted with energy policy objectives outlined by his administration, which emphasized "a balanced approach to electric and natural gas energy supply and transportation fuels … affordability and reliability for consumers."

The move "disappointed" renewable energy advocates like the Nevada Conservation League.

"There's still hope that we can get Lombardo more on board. … We're trying to get him to see the light, the pathway forward, and that clean energy is really good for our economy," Cabrera-Georgeson says.

According to a 2023 report from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, Nevada is anticipated to reduce economy-wide greenhouse gas emissions by 27.8% below 2005 levels in 2030—well below statutory benchmarks. (A 2019 law set the goal for Nevada to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% of 2005 levels by 2030.)

The Weekly asked the governor's office for comment on Nevada being behind its greenhouse gas emissions goals prescribed in statute. They did not respond

INSURANCE ISSUES

Reno resident Justine Overacker grew up in the Bay Area and remembers a couple of times she had to evacuate her home for risk of wildfire. She didn't necessarily expect to have to do that when she and her husband Colin Biggs became homeowners in the North Valleys suburb of Reno in 2019.

Then the Poeville Fire came in June 2020.

"I saw the smoke cloud on the side of our hill … so I loaded the dogs in the car. Ten minutes later, I got the notice on my phone telling us that we would have to evacuate our house," Overacker recalls.

She and Biggs packed some essentials and irreplaceable belongings. They ultimately spent a day and a half with friends in Reno and with nearby family. She acknowledges the fire was "relatively small" and burned only 3,000 acres. But the proximity to their home was "terrifying." Hundreds of residents were evacuated.

Photo: Dr. Justine Overacker / Courtesy

"The houses at the end of the street had to replace roofs and cars because their houses got bombed by fire retardant, basically. That stuff doesn't come off," she says.

And she assumes it will happen again. It did happen again earlier this year when the Trail Fire came within a mile of their house.

"I kind of knew this was a possibility. But I assumed there would be a difference between Gold Country and all of the trees they have there, and North Reno," Overacker says. "Apparently, this is a thing that is just happening."

Climate change doesn't necessarily start fires. (The National Park Service estimates that nearly 85% of wildfires are caused by humans.) But it does come into play in creating dry conditions and fuels for longer, more active fire seasons, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

In Nevada, data from the Legislative Counsel Bureau says acres burned by wildfire increased from 4.2 million during 1980-1999 to 9.5 million during 2000 to 2018, a 126% increase. Neighboring California has seen a fivefold increase in "summer burned areas" in northern and central areas during 1996-2021 compared to 1971-1995, according to the National Integrated Drought Information System.

Other costs aside, an increase in wildfires means an increase in property that needs to be repaired or replaced, which means an increase in costs for insurance companies and reinsurers—and higher premiums. Over the last five years, the cost of property insurance has risen 34% nationwide and 21% in Nevada, according to S&P Global Market Intelligence.

In some states, the effects of climate change have become so severe that insurance companies are refusing to insure properties. Last year, State Farm announced it would not be renewing coverage for 72,000 houses and apartments in California, citing inflation, catastrophe exposure and reinsurance costs as reasons why the company could no longer continue to insure the dwellings.

According to the Nevada Division of Insurance, a similar phenomenon is taking place in the Tahoe Basin, which is at high risk of wildfires. The division held a townhall in June in Incline Village, where one attendee said his fire insurance went from $14,000 to $136,000.

According to Nevada Division of Insurance commissioner Scott Kipper, Nevada historically has had a good record when it comes to wildfire losses and claims. But given that Incline Village is on a slope and has lots of lumber (the perfect conditions for wildfire), insurance companies are giving the area "special rating and access scrutiny." More insurers are opting to not renew policies, and the rate of acceptance for insurance applications is decreasing.

"Wildfires, floods, tornadoes, hurricanes, convective storms, you name it—it seems like there's an increase in the number of events taking place. The cost of these events essentially tripled over the course of the last 10 to 15 years," Kipper tells the Weekly.

"Because of the greater number and the greater severity of these events, reinsurers are now paying out more. Subsequently, they need to recoup. So they are charging their customers more and those costs get passed down through the insurers to the ultimate consumers," he says.

While the rate of acceptance for insurance applications is decreasing, Nevada is also starting to see its share of nonrenewals go up. Overacker and Biggs experienced it with their home insurance policy in 2023.

"Progressive was our home insurance. We got a letter in the mail, and it was … an opt out to renew," Overacker says.

So she took to Facebook to see what her neighbors were going through and how they were dealing with it. She was able to find home insurance comparable to the coverage they had before Progressive dropped them. But she fears getting dropped again.

"From what I gathered from the North Valleys [Facebook] responses that I got, this wasn't just my previous insurance company. This is something that has been kind of a pattern," she says.

To address shrinking access to insurance coverage, the Nevada Division of Insurance has created an online tool where individuals can type in their ZIP code to see which insurers are still writing policies in their areas. The division also is looking at the creation of a state-based insurer of last resort, which would require action from the Legislature and approval by the governor.

"It was pretty clear to us that there would be a demand for this type of program if things continue as they are right now," Kipper says. "In the past, there really hasn't been a need for such because access to insurance, especially in the Tahoe Basin, was not the problem that it is now."

"The challenges are all over the place," he adds, citing heat's deteriorating impact on wiring, roofing and plumbing in Reno and Las Vegas as another reason for rising premiums across the state.

"So it's not just wildfires. There are a number of perils coming into play all at about the same time."