Heat Deaths Jump in Southwest United States, Puzzling Officials

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

3. Not so puzzling.

A lot of older people in Arizona are living on a fixed income, and the cost of a/c is a lot. I'm sure it's even more expensive than when I last lived in Phoenix (1983-1987). Even then, there were elderly people who'd spend all day hanging out at a mall because they couldn't afford the a/c for their home. And when the overnight lows are still in the 90's (and probably ten degrees higher in much of the city), their residence simply isn't going to cool down on its own.

I know a lot of people there use swamp coolers instead, but they are only good for at best 20 degrees of cooling. So, if it's 115 in the middle of the day, you can get your place all the way down to 95 degrees.