At least six people have died from heat-related causes this year so far in the sweltering Phoenix metro area, where temperatures this week reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius), the Maricopa, Arizona, Department of Public Health reported this week.
PHOENIX — At least six people have died from heat-related causes this year so far in the sweltering metro Phoenix region, where temperatures this week reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46 Celsius), the Maricopa County Department of Public Health reported this week.
Another 87 deaths were under investigation for possible heat-related causes as of Saturday, public health officials said in the most recent weekly update on their online website. heat surveillance information.
Phoenix reached 115 degrees F (46 C) on Thursday and Friday, making them the hottest days of 2024 so far. Cooling possible over the weekend.
A heat wave roasted most of the United States on Friday, with numerous areas expect to see record temperatures.
“We could see some rain over the next few days because there is a 30 percent chance of Phoenix,” said National Weather Service meteorologist Ryan Worley. back it up next week.”
Situated in the Sonoran Desert, Maricopa County has seen an impressive 645 heat-related deaths last year, about 50% more than 425 confirmed for 2022.
Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs declared a state of emergency in 2023, after the Phoenix metro area experienced a 31 day streak of temperatures reaching at least 110 degrees F (43.3 degrees C).
Maricopa County, the hottest large metropolitan area in the U.S., is among the few jurisdictions that provide regularly updated data on heat-related deaths that can be easily accessed by the public.
The Medical Examiner’s Office in Pima County, home to Arizona’s second-most populous city, Tucson, this year added a dashboard to track heat deaths there. So far this year there have been at least five heat-related deaths in Pima County, plus three more in rural counties that contract with Pima for forensic services.
Last year in Pima County there were 176 heat-related deaths and another 51 such deaths in the five additional rural counties administered by the medical examiner.
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