When blistering heat pushes temperatures above 100 degrees, many Stockton residents can head indoors, crank up the AC and wait it out. But for those whose jobs keep them outside, escaping the heat isn’t always an option.
Before the sun rose across Stockton this week, some residents were already starting their days, trying to get ahead of the “mini heat wave,” as National Weather Service meteorologist Kate Forrest described it. The heat climbed into the triple digits, with temperatures reading 104 and 106 on consecutive days at the Stockton Metropolitan Airport, NWS data shows. By Friday, the high had slightly eased, reaching a high of 93 degrees.
But as climate change makes extreme heat more frequent and prolonged, there’s an added risk for those who can’t escape the heat, said Ariane Middel, an associate professor at Arizona State University and director of the school’s SHaDE Lab, which studies how environmental conditions and urban design can shape a person’s exposure to heat…