Even when temperatures rise above 30 degrees, Ardi Entezam stands outside and works. His job requires it.

He is the founder and owner of Ardi’s Eats and Sweets, a food truck that sells fancy burgers and fries at private events or farmers markets, no matter how hot it is outside.

“It’s about survival, you work and you have to earn money,” he said. “Sometimes it’s not about ‘I don’t feel like it today, it’s too hot.’ Sometimes you just have to go.”

No matter what temperature the thermometer shows outside, it is easily ten degrees warmer in his caravan, because the huge grill radiates a heat of 380 degrees into the narrow space.

If the hob is switched on, the air conditioning doesn’t help either.

“The best thing is to open the windows and the back door – and I have a screen – and then just let the air circulate,” Entezam said.

He always keeps a water bottle handy and relies on his “strong pain threshold,” which he says he developed over decades of living in Southern California.

“That’s part of the food truck game,” he said.

It’s not just about willpower and grit. Heat can be dangerous.

“When you work outside, you’re likely to sweat more, which means you’re releasing more energy,” said Dr. Kimberly Petrick of Kaiser Permanente in Santa Monica, Calif. “Your body is working a little harder, so it needs more fluids and more time to cool down.”

She said people who work in the heat sometimes come to her with heat-related symptoms, including high heart rate, rapid breathing, confusion or loss of consciousness. These usually appear after the initial symptoms of dizziness, cramps, headaches and fatigue.

And if they don’t receive medical care, the consequences can be fatal.

The number of heat-related deaths is increasing every year, with the Ministry of Health estimating that it rose from 1,600 people nationwide in 2021 to 2,300 last year.

“In the coming years, the dangers for workers are only going to get greater,” said Renee Guerrero Deleon, one of many advocates who recently testified before the state legislature in favor of heat protection for people who work indoors.

The state already has protections in place for people who work outdoors. In July, new standards for indoor workplaces went into effect. Once the indoor temperature reaches 30 degrees (or 27 degrees if workers wear protective gear), employers must now give employees more breaks, provide cooling areas and provide personal heat protection equipment.

The regulations are intended to prevent experiences like that of former chef Colleen Koperek, who later campaigned for reforms in the restaurant industry.

“You know the saying, ‘If you can’t stand the heat, get out of the kitchen’? I had to. At my last job as a pastry chef, I suffered from heat illness due to the extreme heat in the house. I had to gag between each pastry coming out of the oven and had to quit, which basically meant the end of my career,” she said.

Food truck owner Entezam said he doesn’t always take the state-required precautions for himself, but he makes sure his employees do. “I let them go out, take a little breather, we order iced Frappuccinos for them. So, you do what you have to do, right?”