While California’s climate has always had year-to-year and month-to-month variability, the heat the state has experienced recently is consistent with climate change, according to Jane Baldwin, assistant professor of earth system science at UC Irvine. … Los Angeles is an urban heat island … The disparity in climate resilience is even visible from neighborhood to neighborhood, Amir AghaKouchak, a UC Irvine civil and environmental engineering professor, said. More affluent areas are better protected from extreme heat with vegetation and shade, while poorer areas have less shade and air conditioning. Read More