MARICOPA COUNTY, Ariz. — Over 600 people died because of heat-related reasons in 2023 in Maricopa County and experts say 2024 could see even more heat-related deaths.
The county tracks heat-related deaths and releases the data weekly on Tuesdays via a new dashboard. The data includes the total confirmed heat deaths, a breakdown of heat-caused versus heat-contributed deaths, how many deaths are still under investigation, and the demographics of those who have died from heat.
12News is keeping track of the data you need to know about heat-related deaths in Maricopa County.
Explaining the terminology
When reviewing data from the county dashboard, it's important to know how the county categorizes different types of heat-related deaths. Here's a breakdown:
- Total confirmed heat deaths: The number of total confirmed heat deaths includes both heat-caused and heat-contributed deaths, and it is based on official death certificate data. This number can change based on information from the Office of the Medical Examiner.
- Heat-caused deaths: If death is listed as "heat-caused," that means heat exposure is listed as a direct cause of death on the death certificate.
- Heat-contributed: If death is listed as "heat contributed," that means heat exposure is listed as a contributing factor.
- Under investigation: If death is listed as "under investigation," that means the county medical examiner suspects a heat-related death.
Weekly updates
June 18
As of June 18, Maricopa County has confirmed six heat-related deaths. Two of the six are heat-caused and four of the six are heat-contributed. There are 87 deaths under investigation.
At this time last year, there were six confirmed heat-related deaths and 58 under investigation.
An inside look at how Maricopa County is tracking heat-related deaths
The first heat-related death of 2024 in Maricopa County was reported on April 18, six days before the first heat-related death was reported in 2023, according to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
The county debuted a new heat-related death dashboard, allowing residents to see how many people are dying because of heat-related factors, how many cases are under investigation, heat-related death data from 2023 and even heat-related hospital visits.
The dashboard will replace the weekly heat surveillance reports previously published on the public health website. Now, users can interact with data updated weekly on Tuesdays.
Heat-related deaths on the rise in the Valley. Where are they happening and how?
Heat-related deaths increased by 52% in Maricopa County in 2023, according to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health.
According to the report released in April, 80% of those who died were Maricopa County residents and three-fourths were male. Heat-caused deaths have slowly increased since 2013 from 57% to 59% in 2023, according to the report.
'We're definitely going to be saving lives out here this summer': Circle the City provides hydration for homeless Phoenix residents
Perla Puebla describes last summer working street medicine to help the unhoused as "brutal."
"We saw a lot of patients, especially in July, that were moderately to severely dehydrated, that were not feeling well. They had some heat exhaustion," Puebla, a family nurse practitioner and the Associate Medical Director for the of Street Medicine Central at Circle the City, said. "But they did not want to go to the emergency room. They did not want to leave their pets or their belongings behind."
On their first day offering the IVs last week, Circle the City provided IVs to 20% of the 14 patients seen by one team.
How big is Maricopa County?
Maricopa County is the United States’ 4th largest county in terms of population with 4,485,414 people, according to the 2020 Census.
The county contains around 63% of Arizona’s population and is 9,224 square miles. That makes the county larger than seven U.S. states (Rhode Island, Delaware, Connecticut, Hawaii, New Jersey, Massachusetts and New Hampshire).
One of the largest park systems in the nation is also located in Maricopa County. The county has an estimated 120,000 acres of open space parks that includes hundreds of miles of trails, nature centers and campgrounds.
The county’s seat is located in Phoenix, which is also the state capital and the census-designated 5th most populous city in the United States.
The county was named after the Maricopa, or Piipaash, Native American Tribe.
Heat Beat
Here are several videos about Arizona's extreme heat and how you can stay safe during the state's summer months.
