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Fast Company
2 days ago
- Climate
- Fast Company
What is ‘wet bulb' temperature? How heat and humidity combine to dangerous levels
Extreme levels of heat and humidity are forecast to spread across the country over the next two weeks, blanketing the Southwest, Midwest, and East Coast with high temperatures beginning this June 19 and 20, and extending through the next several days. High heat alone is a risk to humans, but heat and humidity together make an especially dangerous combination. Humidity has to do with the concentration of water vapor in the air, that cloying stickiness that separates it from 'dry heat.' When humidity is high, it affects how well our bodies can cool down via sweating. And when high humidity happens in conjunction with high temperatures and intense sun, it poses an even bigger threat. One measurement of that risk comes via the 'wet bulb' temperature forecasts. This weekend, some regions —specifically around Chicago and down to the Florida Panhandle—are expected to reach 'high' and even 'extreme' wet-bulb temperatures of 85 degrees and higher, which increase the threat of heat stress. What is wet-bulb temperature? The wet-bulb globe temperature is one way meteorologists quantify heat. It includes not just the air's temperature, but also factors including humidity, wind, and sunlight. This makes the wet-bulb temperature a particularly important measurement for those who have to spend time outdoors often without shade, like many construction workers or farmworkers. It's also a useful measurement for those who partake in sports and outdoor recreational activities. The National Weather Service warns that as the wet-bulb globe temperature rises above 80 degrees, athletes should take increasing precautions, such as more rest and water breaks to help reduce the effects of the heat, and they may even want to remove their pads, gear, and other equipment. To get the wet-bulb measurement, the bulb of a thermometer is wrapped in a wet cloth. As the water evaporates, it cools the thermometer, mimicking the way the evaporation of our sweat cools our bodies. Meteorologists measure the rate of evaporation, and the temperature difference between the 'wet bulb' and the 'dry bulb,' or air temperature. The wet-bulb temperature is always lower than the dry-bulb temperature, except for when humidity levels reach 100%, and then the measurements are the same. Wet-bulb temperature vs. heat index, and their risks The heat index is another way to show the risk from extreme temperatures. But unlike the wet-bulb measurement, the heat index is measured in the shade. It takes into account the air temperature and relative humidity when someone's not in direct sunlight, to give a sense of how warm it really 'feels like,' at least when standing in a shady spot. Step into the sun, though, and it's likely to feel even hotter. The wet-bulb temp is measured in direct sunlight and takes the angle of the sun into account, along with humidity, wind, cloud cover, and air temperature. Both are important for figuring out the risks to our bodies in high temperatures. And it's important to look at both, because they can be different measurements depending on the conditions. When the heat index is at 80 to 90 degrees, that's a 'caution' warning, per the National Weather Service, meaning fatigue is possible with prolonged exposure or physical activity. Between 90 and 103 degrees is an 'extreme caution' classification, with a risk of heatstroke, heat cramps, or heat exhaustion possible. A heat index of 103 to 124 degrees is a 'danger' level, increasing one's risks from 'possible' to 'likely.' A heat index of 125 degrees or higher poses 'extreme danger.' With a wet-bulb temperature of 85 to 88 degrees, experts warn that working or exercising in direct sunlight will stress your body in just 30 minutes. As that wet-bulb temp climbs to 88 to 89, that amount of time shrinks to just 20 minutes. If the wet-bulb temperature is above 90, then only 15 minutes of work or exercise in the sun will stress your body—and you should take at least 45 minutes to rest each hour. Climate change is making extreme heat worse Wet-bulb temperatures don't always last all day, especially since they take into account the sun's angle. Looking at the National Weather Service's map of the country that shows the forecast for this weekend, those high and extreme wet-bulb temperatures show up for the 2 p.m. ET forecast on Saturday, June 21, and are mostly gone by 8 p.m. ET. Still, heat can be dangerous even at a lower wet-bulb temperature, and those high and extreme temperatures are concerning. As the earth warms, extreme heat is more likely overall—2024, for example, was the hottest year on record, and humans experienced, in general, an extra 41 days of dangerous heat because of climate change. And in places like the tropics, and especially along the 'monsoon belt,' humidity is also increasing along with heat. People there are seeing an increased risk of experiencing lethal wet-bulb temperatures in which their bodies can't cool themselves. The heat dome that will be building in the central and eastern parts of the country beginning this weekend could be historic, the Union of Concerned Scientists says—and climate change is making extreme heat events (and wet-bulb temperatures) like this worse. Currently, the nonprofit science advocacy organization notes, the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Coast are warmer than usual for this time of year, anomalies made 30 times more likely by climate change. That then leads to more moisture in the atmosphere, which leads to higher dew points and humidity levels over the eastern U.S. 'The fingerprints of climate change are all over this event,' the group says.
Yahoo
3 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
As the summer harvest season launches, confusion and uncertainty hang over California fields
As the crucial summer harvest season gets underway in California's vast agricultural regions, farmers and their workers say they feel whiplashed by a series of contradictory signals about how the Trump administration's crackdown on illegal immigration might affect them. California grows more than one-third of the country's vegetables and more than three-quarters of the nation's fruits and nuts in the fertile expanses of the Central Valley, Central Coast and other farming regions. The industry produced nearly $60 billion in goods in 2023, according to state figures — an output that depends heavily on the skilled labor of a workforce that is at least 50% undocumented, according to University of California studies. Without workers, the juicy beefsteak tomatoes that are ripening and must be hand-harvested will rot on the vines. The yellow peaches just reaching that delicate blend of sweet and tart will fall to the ground, unpicked. Same with the melons, grapes and cherries. That's why, when federal immigration agents rolled into the berry fields of Oxnard last week and detained 40 farmworkers, growers up and down the state grew worried along with their workers. Farm laborers, many of whom have lived and worked in their communities for decades, were terrified of being rounded up and deported, separated from their families and livelihoods. Farmers worried that their workforce would vanish — either locked up in detention centers or forced into the shadows for fear of arrest — just as their labor was needed most. Everyone wanted to know whether the raids in Oxnard were the beginning of a broader statewide crackdown that would radically disrupt the harvest season — which is also the period when most farmworkers earn the most money — or just a one-off enforcement action. In the ensuing days, the answers have become no clearer, according to farmers, worker advocates and elected officials. 'We, as the California agricultural community, are trying to figure out what's going on,' said Ryan Jacobsen, chief executive of the Fresno County Farm Bureau and a farmer of almonds and grapes. He added that 'time is of the essence,' because farms and orchards are 'coming right into our busiest time.' After the raids in Ventura County last week, growers across the country began urgently lobbying the Trump administration, arguing that enforcement action on farm operations could hamper food production. They pointed to the fields around Oxnard post-raid, where, according to the Ventura County Farm Bureau, as many as 45% of the workers stayed home in subsequent days. President Trump appeared to get the message. On Thursday, he posted on Truth Social that 'our great farmers,' along with leaders in the hospitality industry, had complained that his immigration policies were 'taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace.' He added that it was 'not good' and 'changes are coming!' The same day, according to a New York Times report, a senior official with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement wrote regional ICE directors telling them to lay off farms, along with restaurants and hotels. 'Effective today, please hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture (including aquaculture and meat packing plants), restaurants and operating hotels,' the official wrote. Many in California agriculture took heart. Then on Monday came news that the directive to stay off farms, hotels and restaurants had been reversed. 'There will be no safe spaces for industries who harbor violent criminals or purposely try to undermine ICE's efforts,' Tricia McLaughlin, an assistant secretary for the Department of Homeland Security, said, according to the Washington Post. 'Worksite enforcement remains a cornerstone of our efforts to safeguard public safety, national security and economic stability.' In California's heartland, Jacobsen of the Fresno County Farm Bureau spoke for many farmers when he said: 'We don't have a clue right now.' Asked Tuesday to clarify the administration's policy on immigration raids in farmland, White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said the Trump administration is committed to "enforcing federal immigration law." "While the President is focused on immediately removing dangerous criminal illegal aliens from the country," Jackson said, "anyone who is here illegally is liable to be deported.' Still, Jacobsen and others noted, aside from the upheaval in Ventura County last week, agricultural operations in other parts of the state have largely been spared from mass immigration sweeps. Workers, meanwhile, have continued to show up for work, and most have even returned to the fields in Ventura County. There has been one notable outcome of last week's raids, according to several people interviewed: Employers are reaching out to workers' rights organizations, seeking guidance on how to keep their workers safe. "Some employers are trying to take steps to protect their employees, as best they can,' said Armando Elenes, secretary treasurer of the United Farm Workers. He said his organization and others have been training employers on how to respond if immigration agents show up at their farms or packinghouses. A core message, he said: Don't allow agents on the property if they don't have a signed warrant. Indeed, many of the growers whose properties were raided in Ventura County appear to have understood that; advocates reported that federal agents were turned away from a number of farms because they did not have a warrant. Read more: Eerie silence hangs over Central Coast farm fields in wake of ICE raids In Ventura County, Lucas Zucker, co-executive director of the Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy, a group that has often been at odds with growers over issues such as worker pay and protections, underscored the unusual alliance that has forged between farmers and worker advocates. Two days after the raids, Zucker read a statement condemning the immigration sweeps on behalf of Maureen McGuire, chief executive of the Ventura County Farm Bureau, an organization that represents growers. "Farmers care deeply about their workers, not as abstract labor, but as human beings and valued community members who deserve dignity, safety and respect," McGuire said in the statement. "Ventura County agriculture depends on them. California's economy depends on them. America's food system depends on them." Before reading the statement, Zucker evoked light laughter when he told the crowd: 'For those of you familiar [with] Ventura County, you might be surprised to see CAUSE reading a statement from the farm bureau. We clash on many issues, but this is something where we're united and where we're literally speaking with one voice.' 'The agriculture industry and farmworkers are both under attack, with federal agencies showing up at the door," Zucker said later. "Nothing brings people together like a common enemy.' This article is part of The Times' equity reporting initiative, funded by the James Irvine Foundation, exploring the challenges facing low-income workers and the efforts being made to address California's economic divide. Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week. This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
Telegraph
5 days ago
- Politics
- Telegraph
Trump's immigration raids split White House
Donald Trump's hardline stance on immigration has caused a split in the White House, pitting the policy's chief architect against politicians under pressure from farming lobbies. The president's administration has been ramping up immigration raids to fulfil Mr Trump's campaign pledge to carry out the 'largest deportation program' in US history. Under the direction of Stephen Miller, Mr Trump's deputy chief of staff, agents trying to hit targets of 3,000 arrests per day have chased migrant workers through fields in Southern California. But on Wednesday, Brooke Rollins, the agriculture secretary, warned Mr Trump that farming groups were concerned raids on agriculture would decimate an industry that relied on immigrant workers, the New York Times reported. She said farmers relied on migrants to work long hours and that farm groups were concerned they would stop turning up for work out of fear. More than 40 per cent of US farmworkers are undocumented immigrants, according to a 2022 report by the US Department of Agriculture. The following day, the US president responded to a post on Truth Social that said migrants in the farming and hospitality industries were 'very good, long time workers'. He wrote: 'Our great Farmers and people in the Hotel and Leisure business have been stating that our very aggressive policy on immigration is taking very good, long time workers away from them, with those jobs being almost impossible to replace. 'In many cases the Criminals allowed into our Country by the VERY Stupid Biden Open Borders Policy are applying for those jobs. This is not good. We must protect our Farmers, but get the criminals out of the USA. Changes are coming!' New guidance issued by Tatum King, a senior official at the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), instructed agents to put a 'hold on all work site enforcement investigations/operations on agriculture [including aquaculture and meat packing plants], restaurants and operating hotels', according to the newspaper. But White House aides such as Mr Miller, were reportedly furious, exposing divisions within the administration over its immigration policy and Mr Trump's priorities to boost deportations while retaining his political support. Agricultural associations, whose members are typically Republicans, are understood to have been raising concerns with their Senate and congressional offices about the raids. The Trump administration had initially focused on targeting criminal migrants but has shifted gears in recent weeks. Mr Miller is credited as the mastermind who pushed for raids to be expanded to places where immigrants congregate and workplaces in a bid to drive up the numbers. Last month, Mr Miller set quotas for a t least 3,000 arrests a day, a steep jump from the roughly 660 daily arrests during Mr Trump's first 100 days in office. He is understood to have directed ICE chiefs to start targeting spots where migrants congregate, such as farms, stores like Home Depot, and workplaces. Following a spate of raids in Los Angeles, protests erupted in the city, which has spread across the US.
Yahoo
7 days ago
- Politics
- Yahoo
Fear of ongoing ICE raids impacting coastal farming communities
HALF MOON BAY, Calif. - Along the San Mateo County coast, it's the time of year when attention turns toward luring vacationers and sightseers. But many migrants who work the nearby farm fields said they're leery because the current political climate makes it difficult for them to feel safe. "We're all hardworking Latinos working in these fields. And it's very sad for the children, for example, who may have been born in this country and their parents may not be documented," said Felix Torres, standing in a field not far from Highway-1 in Half Moon Bay. The Trump administration's continued nationwide crackdown on undocumented migrants has led to arrests and uncertainty. In Half Moon Bay, city officials said their non-profit social improvement partners have reported that fewer people in the past few months have accessed social services out of fear they could be targeted by ICE agents. "Folks who normally attend some of our non-profit partners' emergency services as far as food, childcare, housing assistance, there's been a decline in attendance, because there's fear because of ICE or other immigration-related topics going to the different non-profits," said Julissa Acosta, a management analyst for the city's community services department. Added Sandra Sension, "We are very aware of what's going on in our country right now." She is a farmworker program director with ALAS in Half Moon Bay. She said they're doing outreach five days a week in an attempt to keep the farming community calm and increase awareness of what is and isn't legal. "We've been hosting several know your rights trainings within our community, distributing the know your rights cards. Here at ALAS we have opened up a fund to be able to bring on a full-time immigration attorney and paralegal," she said. President Donald Trump on Thursday signaled an easing of strict immigration enforcement for farm and hotel workers. "We can't take farmers and take all their people and send them back because they maybe don't have what they're supposed to have, maybe not," Mr. Trump said. For Felix Torres, who came into the country under amnesty during President Ronald Reagan's second term in office and is now living under President Trump's second term, there is hope the ICE raids and the mood of the country will make a shift for the better. "What we are asking right now of the current president is to touch his heart, feel for our community that is hurting and put an end to these ICE raids and separation of these hard-working families," Torres said. The president said there will be a policy statement addressing this in the next few days. Jesse Gary is a reporter based in the station's South Bay Bureau. Follow him on the Instagram platform, @jessegontv and on Facebook, @JesseKTVU.
BBC News
7 days ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Hiding in the fields - farm workers fearing deportation stay in California's shadows
The women crouch down motionless, kneeling between endless rows of fruit bushes, almost hidden from view."Are you from ICE?" one of the women, a farm worker in a hat and purple bandana, asks us assuring her that we're not with US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), which has been raiding nearby farms and arresting workers over the past week, she straightens her back, rising slightly out of the dirt."Have you seen any ICE vans? Are there patrol cars out there?" she asks, still unsure if we can be trusted and she can woman, an undocumented migrant from Mexico, has been picking berries in Oxnard, California since arriving in the US two years ago. It's a town which boasts of being the "strawberry capital of the world".As her work shift ended on Wednesday, she and her co-workers hid in the fields, waiting to be picked up by a friend and unsure whether it was safe to venture out into the parking the previous day, nine farms in the Oxnard area were visited by ICE agents, say local activists, but without search warrants they were denied entry and instead picked up people on the nearby streets, arresting 35. The workplace raids are part of President Donald Trump's goal of arresting 3,000 undocumented immigrants per day. On the campaign trail he had vowed to deport noncitizens accused of violent crimes, a promise that received widespread support, even among some Hispanics. But in Los Angeles there was a public backlash and street protests that sometimes turned violent, prompting him to controversially send in the military to the second largest city in the US."They treat us like criminals, but we only came here to work and have a better life," says the woman, who left her children behind in Mexico two years ago and hopes to return to them next year."We don't want to leave the house anymore. We don't want to go to the store. We're afraid they'll catch us." Large-scale raids on workplaces in California's agricultural heartland haven't been seen for the last 15 years, says Lucas Zucker, a community organiser in California's Central Coast that seems to have changed this past week."They are just sweeping through immigrant communities like Oxnard indiscriminately, looking for anyone they can find to meet their politically-driven quotas," he than 40% of US farmworkers are undocumented immigrants, according to a 2022 report by the US Department of Agriculture. In California, more than 75% are undocumented, according to the University of California, at farms and businesses that rely on the agricultural industry throughout California, and across the entire country, have ramped up this arrests have raised fears of shortages to America's food supply, if the migrants are arrested or forced into hiding, afraid to come to work. This impact has not been lost on the White House. Despite winning the election decisively after promising mass deportations, Trump on Thursday acknowledged the tough time his crackdown is inflicting on the farming sector."Our farmers are being hurt badly. You know, they have very good workers. They've worked for them for 20 years. They're not citizens, but they've turned out to be, you know, great."Who has been arrested by ICE under Trump?In April, he said that some migrants may be authorised to continue working in the US, on the condition that they have a formal recommendation from their employer and that they first leave the US. The result of one raid on Tuesday in Oxnard, a municipality 60 miles (100km) from downtown Los Angeles, can be seen in a video posted to Instagram by a local flower short clip shows a man running in a vast field of crops, through a haze of thick morning fog, as agents give chase on foot and in trucks. He is then seen falling to the ground, among the rows of plants, as agents move to arrest the BBC visited Oxnard on Wednesday, a US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) truck was seen parked outside an organic produce trucking company. A security guard insisted their visit was not related to immigration, saying: "This is not ICE. We would never let ICE in here."Many tractors and trucks sat idle surrounded by acres of farmland, as an unknown number of workers chose to stay and peril in Newsom's fight with TrumpJesus polished luxury cars in LA - then ICE showed upThe impact is having ripple effects on other businesses. Watching from her family's Mexican restaurant, Raquel Pérez saw masked CBP agents attempt to enter Boskovich Farms, a vegetable and herb packing facility across the her business, Casa Grande Cafe, has only one customer during the normally busy lunch hour, because farm workers have stayed home. She estimates that at least half of her normal clientele are undocumented."No one came in today," says her mother, Paula Pérez. "We're all on edge."Raquel says she's more concerned now for the future of the restaurant - serving chilaquiles, flan, and other Mexican delicacies - than she was during Covid, when her customers continued their work as usual, keeping the nation supplied with fresh foods."They don't realise the domino effect this is going to have," she says about the raids. Other companies around her that rely on agriculture have already been affected. The adjacent business buying and selling wooden pallets is closed, and a local car mechanic too."If the strawberries or vegetables aren't picked, that means there's gonna be nothing coming into the packing houses. Which means there's not gonna be no trucks to take the stuff." A migrant selling strawberries from his truck on the side of the road says the raids have already had a devastating effect - on both his business and his hopes of becoming a legal resident of the US."Fewer people are going out for trips, and they buy less from me," says Óscar, who comes from the Mexican state of Tlaxcala and, while undocumented himself, has children who were born in the US."I'm scared, but I can't stop going out to work. I have to provide for my family," he says.Óscar says he has been working to finalise his immigration status, but with ICE agents now waiting outside courthouses for migrants seeking to process paperwork, he's unsure of what to do next."There aren't many ways left to be here legally."
