San Joaquin Valley

UC Merced Climate Experts Explain Why March Heat Wave is Dangerous

March 17, 2026

Depicted is the sun in an orange sky framed by palm leaves.

Temperatures in the 90s are nothing new to the northern San Joaquin Valley. But having them in March, as expected this week, is unusual and potentially dangerous. An exceptionally strong ridge of high pressure will bring record-breaking heat to the entire region, the National Weather Service...

Picture This: Migrant Farmworkers’ Daughter Turns UC Merced Grad

When Anna Ocegueda walks across the stage at UC Merced’s 2019 commencement, it will be not only a powerful moment for her, but for her family, too — and for the thousands of people who...

Vicky Espinoza presents her story at a recent symposium.

Grad Student Represents Valley at Global Food Security Symposium

Graduate student Vicky Espinoza shared the plight of some San Joaquin Valley families with a wide audience this spring in her role as a Next Generation delegate to this year’s Chicago Council...

Waterbirds take flight over a large wetland area along the Pacific Flyway.

Climate Change is Negatively Affecting Waterbirds in the American West

Climate change is having a profound effect on the millions of migrating birds that rely on annual stops along the Pacific Flyway as they head from Alaska to Patagonia each year. They are finding...

Rose Scott engages with a child to gauge his reactions as part of her research.

Grant Enables Researcher to Focus on Valley Families and Children’s Development

Certain aspects of children's social cognition ripple throughout their lives, including whether small children can understand that other people’s minds are different than their own. That...

Researcher Takes First Step Toward Improved Diagnosis for Valley Fever

Clinicians searching for a new way to identify Valley fever patients who will develop the disease’s worst symptoms will find hope in a new paper by UC Merced Professor Katrina Hoyer . A...

Extension Training Future Teachers and Child-Care Workers

The California Teachers Association (CTA) indicates the state faces a massive shortage of highly qualified teachers – especially those who can teach math, science and special education —...

From left: Interim SSHA Dean Jeff Gilger, alumnus Michael Pierick ('16), Chancellor Dorothy Leland and Merced Mayor Mike Murphy at Wednesday's UC Board of Regents meeting.

UC Regents Learn of UC Merced's Community Impact

Michael Pierick’s road to presenting as part of the UC Merced delegation at this week’s UC Board of Regents meeting started in 2012, with a pit stop on the way to a basketball tryout at...

Distinguished guests joined the chancellor for a campus tour

UC Merced, Bay Area Council Eye Potential 'Megaregion'

UC Merced Chancellor Dorothy Leland and Merced Mayor Mike Murphy welcomed the Bay Area Council to Merced on Thursday for a robust discussion on potential future connections between Merced and ...

Hundreds gathered to celebrate the opening of the first three buildings of the Merced 2020 Project.

Moving In: First Buildings of Massive Expansion Open to Students

Less than two years after breaking ground on its unprecedented campus expansion, the University of California, Merced, last week celebrated the opening of the first three buildings of the Merced 2020...