Heat-related deaths in Maricopa County, Arizona, 2001-2022. The temperature hit 110F or higher on 22 days in 2022, yet it was only the 20th hottest summer on record, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). It did not drop below 80F on 75 percent of nights between June and August. Heat effects are cumulative, and the body cannot begin to recover until the temperature drops below 80F. Data: Maricopa County, office of vital registration and office of medical examiner, Arizona department of health services. Graphic: The Guardian
Heat-related deaths in Maricopa County, Arizona, 2001-2022. The temperature hit 110F or higher on 22 days in 2022, yet it was only the 20th hottest summer on record, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). It did not drop below 80F on 75 percent of nights between June and August. Heat effects are cumulative, and the body cannot begin to recover until the temperature drops below 80F. Data: Maricopa County, office of vital registration and office of medical examiner, Arizona department of health services. Graphic: The Guardian

By Anita Snow
25 October 2022

PHOENIX (AP) – This summer was the deadliest on record for heat-associated fatalities in Arizona’s largest county amid a growing wave of homelessness. Public health statistics this week confirmed a record 359 such deaths just days before the end of the six-month heat season.

The jump in deaths raises questions about how to better protect vulnerable people not only in the desert Southwest, where temperatures regularly hit triple digits, but also in more temperate areas where climate change has fueled more intense, frequent and enduring heat waves.

According to the National Weather Service, the highest temperature recorded this year at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport was 115 degrees (46.1 C) on July 11, with the mercury hitting 114 degrees (45.5 C) on June 11 and July 16 and 22.

Maricopa County’s heat-associated fatalities this year have outpaced the 339 deaths confirmed in 2021 and the final number could be higher still, with another 91 deaths still under investigation.

The county has more than a decade of experience tracking heat deaths, but comparable figures are hard to come by in other areas such as the Pacific Northwest, which has only experienced intense heat waves in recent years.

Heat-associated deaths in Maricopa County, Arizona, 26 April - 18 October 2022. Daily maximum temperatures and daily minimum temperatures are also shown. Graphic: Maricopa County Department of Public Health
Heat-associated deaths in Maricopa County, Arizona, 26 April – 18 October 2022. Daily maximum temperatures and daily minimum temperatures are also shown. Graphic: Maricopa County Department of Public Health

In California, researchers have found that unsheltered people — especially those with a mental illness — were significantly more likely to end up in the hospital during extreme heat than housed people, based on a study of emergency room admissions.

Nearly 80% of the heat-associated deaths in Maricopa County this year occurred outdoors, but the preliminary heat reports for this year don’t estimate how many of the deaths were among the homeless rather than people who were working outside or were outdoors for other reasons.

But the increase comes amid a surge in people living outside in metro Phoenix, with hundreds of homeless individuals sleeping in tents downtown amid soaring rents and evictions.

“With so many more homeless people, it makes sense that more would die in the heat,” said Amy Schwabenlender, executive director of the Human Services Campus in downtown Phoenix that brings together agencies assisting homeless people.

She said about 900 individuals currently stay at shelters on the campus, with about 1,000 more in tents on the streets outside the fenced property. There were an estimated 300 people sleeping just outside the campus a year ago. [more]

Heat deaths in Arizona’s biggest county outpace last year’s