Las Vegas is getting warmer. Nevada has a plan to help combat extreme heat

The nation’s two fastest-warming cities may soon be required by Nevada law to better protect residents from deadly heat in future plans.

More than a dozen organizations and Nevada residents attended a committee hearing to support Assembly Bill 96, which would require any city or county with at least 100,000 residents to amend master plans to address heat mitigation efforts. Climate Central, a nonpartisan group of scientists, regards Reno and Las Vegas as the two fastest-warming cities in the country, with temperature increases of 7.6 degrees and 5.7 degrees, respectively, from 1970 to 2023.

“It’s clear that heat is a crisis in our state,” said Assemblymember Venise Karris, D-Las Vegas, in her testimony on Tuesday. “This bill offers a strategic approach to addressing its effects while still providing our local governments with flexibility in specifically tailoring their mitigation efforts to their communities.”

That means city planners would consider solutions to keep people cool, such as access to cooling centers, tree canopy, public sources of drinking water, cool building practices, and shade over paved spaces.

With an unbearable summer that dealt the Las Vegas area at least 526 heat-related deaths, experts say urban adaptation is paramount as climate change stands to worsen conditions at a rapid pace.

Support for bill in droves

Only one lobbyist spoke against the bill — Laura McSwain of the Water Fairness Coalition, who contended that the Las Vegas Valley cannot truly reconcile with rising temperatures without addressing how the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s large-scale turf removal is contributing to urban heat.

“Our elevated heat trajectory will only get worse due to heavy-handed water management,” McSwain said.

Environmental organizations showed up to support the bill alongside representatives from the multi-city Urban Consortium, the city of Reno and the city of Henderson.

Jackie Spicer, coordinator for the Nevada Environmental Justice Coalition, said during public comment that she finds any heat-related death unacceptable because all of them could be prevented with proper mitigation.

“This silent killer strikes hardest at our most vulnerable populations, including our elders, children, low-income families, those without shelter and individuals with pre-existing health conditions,” Spicer said.

Make the Road Nevada, a nonprofit based in Las Vegas, translated for four Spanish-speaking Nevadans who testified at the hearing, all emphasizing the need for more shade in their neighborhoods.

Heat burden is unequal across LV

Certain neighborhoods experience the so-called “urban heat island effect” more intensely because of a lack of green spaces and tree cover, as best revealed by a 2022 Regional Transportation Commission mapping effort.

An October U.S. Geological Survey study revealed that shade from trees has the power to cool Las Vegas by about 45 degrees in some instances — more than any other city where temperatures were monitored.

Marco Velotta, chief sustainability officer for the city of Las Vegas, said urban heat islands exist in neighborhoods near downtown Las Vegas, East Las Vegas and the Charleston Corridor. The city’s Historic Westside — a historically Black neighborhood — has less than 10 percent tree canopy, he added.

The goal of the bill is to encourage cities and counties to think more proactively about heat mitigation, he said. Velotta mentioned that Las Vegas lags behind Phoenix on the issue, specifically in regard to the Office of Heat Response and Mitigation it established in 2021.

“Those are things we haven’t approached in Southern Nevada yet,” he said. “Having this specific element in place might help us push toward other mitigation strategies that will help our constituents.”

Next steps

It’s unclear when the bill will be brought to a vote by the Assembly Committee on Government Affairs.

However, if passed, cities and counties would likely be required to update master plans with a heat mitigation section by the time the law takes effect.

Dylan Shaver, a private lobbyist who appeared on behalf the city of Las Vegas, told lawmakers that the bill allows the Legislature to signal its concern for the issue of extreme heat, while allowing for local issues to be solved locally.

“It provides very clear direction to the county, the city and everyone else involved: You have to look at this, and you have to develop a plan for how you’re going to mitigate these concerns,” Shaver said.

Marco Velotta is the son of Review-Journal reporter Rick Velotta.

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.