Chino Student Uses AI and Community Action to Combat Extreme Heat Vulnerability in Southern California

AI models heat vulnerability across LA & San Bernardino counties. Nonprofit Conservly has distributed 200 heat kits to vulnerable Inland Empire residents.

CHINO, CA, UNITED STATES, June 29, 2026 /EINPresswire.com/ -- Conservly, a registered 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by high school student Aarav Desai, is leading a youth-led initiative to combat heat vulnerability and support communities disproportionately affected by extreme temperatures across Southern California.

The organization tackles a growing public health crisis: the unequal impact of extreme heat on seniors, unhoused individuals, and neighborhoods lacking shade and cooling resources. Extreme heat is the leading cause of weather-related deaths in the United States according to the CDC, yet it remains one of the least resourced public health crises, falling hardest on the communities least able to protect themselves.

It started at a Boy Scout summer camp in 2024, when a fellow Scout collapsed from severe dehydration in 100-degree heat.Following that incident, Aarav began researching urban heat islands and how vulnerable populations such as the elderly and unhoused survive without adequate environmental protections.

To predict where heat strikes hardest, he built THRIVE (Tactical Heat-Health Risk Vulnerability Explorer). Utilizing optimized XGBoost machine learning models, THRIVE predicts heat-related emergency room visits at the neighborhood level across Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties. Scientists at NYU, USC, and Children's Hospital Los Angeles have agreed to mentor and supervise the research.

Conservly translates this data into direct action. Aarav leads a team of high school students who have distributed 200 heat-relief kits containing water, sunscreen, hats, and cooling essentials to vulnerable residents across the Inland Empire and Los Angeles County, with plans to distribute 300 more this summer, alongside educating 100+ local seniors on heat safety and planting urban trees in Chino.

Conservly has raised more than $8,000 through grassroots fundraising and partnerships with the Riley’s Way Foundation and Karma For Cara Foundation, all funds raised go directly toward these community programs.

“Earthquakes and wildfires are recognized as emergencies, but extreme heat is the deadliest environmental threat we face. Data shows us exactly where the problem is, but community service is how we respond to it. Conservly brings both together.”
— Aarav Desai, Founder, Conservly

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About Conservly

Conservly is a youth-led 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by Aarav Desai, a student at the Biomedical Science and Technology Academy at Chino High School in Chino, California. The organization combats heat-related disparities in marginalized communities through relief kit distribution, senior education, tree planting, and data-driven advocacy via the THRIVE machine learning platform. As the founder, Aarav is solely responsible for leading the organization’s research initiatives.

Media Contact
Website: conservly.org
Email: conservly@gmail.com
THRIVE: thrive.conservly.org
Instagram: @chino_conservly
LinkedIn: Aarav-H-Desai

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Introduction to Conservly and its mission

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