PHOENIX — It’s nothing new that summers are hot in Arizona, but this July can be one of the hottest and deadliest in years.
Temperatures have been at or above 110 degrees for 11 straight days now, inching the record set back in 1974 with 18 straight days topping more than 110 degrees.
The hot weather has been driven in part by a relentless heat wave that’s been striking the southwest of the country and impacting millions of people, causing a rise in heat-related illnesses and death.
This heat season there have been a total of eight confirmed heat-related deaths in Maricopa County, but officials tell 12News reporting lags and expect the numbers to soar.
“The emergency department has been busier than usual with heat-related illness,” said Frank LoVecchio, an emergency physician at Valleywise Health Medical Center.
Dr. LoVecchio said while first responders have been able to reach many people suffering from heat-related illnesses, hospitals are getting the patients who are most severe.
“What we see a couple of times a day unfortunately is somebody who is comatose, with high temperatures,” Dr. LoVecchio said. “Usually, the thermometer only reads about 107, so it’s not uncommon to see 2 to 3 people with 107 temperatures. Your body does not like those temperatures.”
Heat-related deaths have soared in recent years. Last summer a record-breaking 425 people died as a result of hot temperatures, a number that has quadrupled in just a decade and that increased by 21% from 2021, which had 229 heat-related deaths.
In 2022, more than half of all heat-associated deaths occurred during the month of July, according to a county report.
“What we have started to see this year, is that our numbers are tracking what we saw last year,” said Dr. Nick Staab, the assistant medical director at the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, when asked about the current heat wave.
Dr. Staab said since 2013, the county has tripled the number of cooling and hydrating stations, in an effort to prevent heat-related illnesses or death.
“We really want people to plan for the heat so that they can get to a place to cool down,” Dr. Staab said, speaking about the general public, not just those who are unsheltered. “It’s important that they stay hydrated, but also that they can get indoors during the hottest part of the day.”
The dangerous heat has already sent at least 10 people to the Arizona Burn Center after sustaining burns after coming into contact with hot surfaces, such as pavement.
“Your body was not built to have these temperatures outside,” Dr. LoVecchio said. “When you get these temperatures, your body will stop reacting.”
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