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Just When You Thought it Couldn’t Get Any Hotter

Residents of the High Desert in Southern California are used to high temperatures, but this year's extreme heat broke records and rattled nerves.

By Lilia Galindo | Cafe con Leche Radio

Living along the edge of the western Mojave Desert means enduring extreme temperatures that often hit or exceed three digits.

Latino residents of Palmdale, Lancaster, Littlerock, and other cities and towns that dot Southern California’s High Desert region understandably believed it couldn’t get any hotter. But this year’s unusual extreme heat — driven in part by the weather phenomenon known as El Niño and exacerbated by climate change — saw temperatures topping 120F.

Radio host Lilia Galindo of Cafe Con Leche Radio in Lancaster spoke with residents about how this unusually high heat is impacting communities and individuals — including those who work outdoors — and what they are doing to stay cool and safe.

You can listen to the programs (in Spanish) below:

Extreme Heat in California
How to Survive Extreme Temperatures
Extreme Heat in the Antelope Valley

Cafe con Leche is a radio show serving the Latino community in the Antelope Valley along the western edge of the Mojave Desert.

This story was produced as part of a collaboration with the Office of Community Partnerships and Strategic Communication for their Heat Ready CA public awareness and outreach campaign. Visit Heat Ready CA to learn more.

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