This post was updated Oct. 15 at 9:37 p.m.
A growing number of Californians are experiencing extreme heat and other climate-related events, according to UCLA’s annual California Health Interview Survey released Thursday.
The number of adults who reported that they or a household member personally experienced wildfires in the past two years more than doubled – increased from 2.9 million to 6.5 million from 2024 to 2025, according to the report. The percentage of people who reported experiencing smoke from wildfires increased by nearly 50% in the same time period, and 2.3 million of the people exposed to wildfire smoke said their physical health was harmed.
The January 2025 Los Angeles fires destroyed thousands of structures in the Pacific Palisades, Altadena and Pasadena, prompting widespread evacuations and air quality concerns. Thirty people died in the fires, according to the Associated Press.
[Related: Over 29K acres, 10K structures devastated as ‘unprecedented’ LA fires near 4th day]
The California Health Interview Survey, conducted by the Center for Health Policy Research, covers a range of topics that impact public health, including housing, food, climate change and gun violence.
More than 50% of California adults reported experiencing an extreme heat wave in the past two years, according to the report.
Of those who experienced extreme heat waves, more than one in six do not have air conditioning at home and around 25% limit their air conditioning because of cost concerns. Of those who either do not have air conditioning, more than 15% reported harm to their mental health due to extreme heat.
At UCLA, students living in on-campus housing without air conditioning said their sleep patterns, study habits and physical health were all impacted by a heat wave in early October.
[Related: ‘Sweating Bullets’: UCLA students struggle as campus temperatures rise]
The CHPR released data about e-cigarette use in young adults based on the survey. Nearly 10% of Californians ages 18 to 29 – more than double the percentage of Californians 30 and older – reported vaping in the past month, with more than a third of the respondents reporting that they started before the age of 18, according to the report.
The survey also found that fewer non-United States citizens attended a routine checkup in the past year than both U.S.-born and naturalized citizens.
Transgender and gender expansive adults were nearly three times more likely than all California adults to report trouble finding a general doctor and twice as likely to report trouble finding a medical specialist, according to the survey.
“We remain committed to what we do and expanding what we can offer, whether it’s adding new survey questions, oversampling underrepresented communities, conducting follow‑on studies, or supporting reporters, advocates, and policymakers with timely data,” said Ninez A. Ponce, the center’s director, in a Thursday press release.
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