Summers in Palm Springs are known to be brutally hot — and they're only getting hotter. To talk about the impact of that heat and ways to make living with it more bearable, the city is organizing its first
ever Extreme Heat Summit.
With sessions on "the human cost of extreme heat," "designing cool cities," and "scaling heat resilience investments," the city hopes to inform residents of the work being done to adapt to a hotter climate.
The event has been scheduled for all day on Friday, Sept. 18, at the Palm Springs Convention Center.
Organized by the Palm Springs Department of Sustainability in partnership with the California Office of Emergency Management, the summit will bring together experts from around the country.
See the speakers below.
- Palm Springs Mayor Naomi Soto
- Blue Zones Project Public Policy Lead Diane Morales (keynote speaker)
- Environmental Science Associates Climate Planner Elizabeth Felter
- Inner and Outer Engagement Founder Ari Simon
- AECOM Climate Advisory Services Associate Principal Shelley Jiang
- Kounkuey Design Initiative Community Principal Christian Rodriguez Ceja
- University of Arizona Heat Resilience Initiative Director Ladd Keith
- Health Assessment and Research for Communities Chief Executive Officer Jenna LeComte-Hinley
- Anuj Desai, Senior Advisor, Climate Adaptation and Resilience, Southern California Edison
To register, visit extremeheatsummit2026.eventbrite.com.
Tickets cost $28.52, including a service fee. The event is expected to last for around nine hours.
More information is available at engagepalmsprings.com.
Sam Morgen covers local government for The Desert Sun. Reach him at smorgen@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Why Palm Springs is holding its first-ever ‘extreme heat summit’
