At Least 494 Heat Deaths In AZ In 2020, Nearly Double The Previous Annual Mortality Record

[hatrack]

Last edited Mon Feb 1, 2021, 10:49 AM - Edit history (1)

The number of heat-related deaths in Arizona soared to a new high last year as people endured the hottest summer on record and the complications of the pandemic. The deaths of at least 494 people were linked to heat during 2020, state health officials said this week, a preliminary number that may continue to grow as more deaths under investigation are resolved.

More than 300 heat-associated deaths have been confirmed in Maricopa County, a number that could also climb. The statewide toll far surpassed the previous record of 283 heat-related deaths reported in 2019. Over the past five years, state figures show, heat has been linked to more than 1,500 deaths in Arizona.

With climate change pushing temperatures higher, experts say the growing number of lives lost underlines an urgent need to scale up efforts to protect those who are most vulnerable and mobilize government resources at the local and federal levels to mitigate this chronic hazard.

“The number of people who have died from heat in Arizona over the past year is a staggering increase over previous years,” said David Hondula, an Arizona State University scientist who studies heat and health. “We believe that every one of those deaths is preventable.”

EDIT

https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2021/01/31/heat-killed-record-number-people-arizona-last-year/4294654001/

[safeinOhio]

1. What would that total be if the

power grid in Phoenix goes down in the next heat wave?

[LazySusanNot]

2. We have spent our last 6 years in this heat sink...

My hubby worked as a remodeling contractor here in the Phoenix Valley. He's had heat related trouble on a few occasions with one being potentially deadly if he had not realized what was happening. Over those years, a couple of guys he worked with ended up in the emergency room with heat related problems. Just in the short time we have lived here, the heat has ratcheted up and up. Our sun lost 95% of the new landscape plants we put in during his landscape remodel last summer. He also lost 6 of his beautiful adult Queen Palm Trees. We are here only because of our son but we are looking to relocate soon.

We love the desert but are to that point where we can't stand the heat and are planning to get out of this kitchen.

Thanks for posting. This situation will escalate.....