Maricopa County heat killed 2 in March, April
Two people have already died from Arizona’s heat this year, Maricopa County public-health officials confirmed. Twelve more deaths in the county are under investigation.
One of the deaths determined to have been caused by heat occurred in March, when temperatures still hovered around 80 degrees, according to the Maricopa County Department of Public Health. The other occurred in early April.
“I wish this was unusual,” said Rebecca Sunenshine, a medical director at the Maricopa County De-
partment of Public Health. “Last year was the highest number of heat-related deaths that we’ve had, ever, since we started counting the numbers.”
Both victims died outside and were women, one in her 20s and the other in her 70s. The majority of the deaths still under investigation happened in the past three weeks. Pending heat-associated death investigations could still get ruled out, Sunenshine said.
The National Weather Service issued an excessive-heat warning for metro Phoenix this week; it started Sunday and ended Wednesday. On Monday and Tuesday, the Weather Service recorded high temperatures of 107 degrees.
Heat-associated deaths are tracked by the county’s health department in a weekly report during the “heat-surveillance season,” which generally starts in May and ends in October.
In 2016, Maricopa County recorded no heat-associated deaths in March or April, though there were three confirmed deaths in May of that year.
Phoenix can expect to see “a lengthening of the hot season” based on projections, said Sharon Harlan, a senior sustainability fellow with Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability. “There is this very real prospect of increases in heat death and hospitalizations and emergency-room visits,” she said.
Harlan has studied environmental inequalities for more than a decade and was one of the authors of a study published last year examining the health impacts of heat.
High temperatures can kill inexperienced hikers, those without working airconditioners and homeless people who live outdoors, she said. Homeless people accounted for 33 percent of all heatassociated deaths the county tracked last year.
Sunenshine said it’s important for people to drink enough water, take breaks in the shade, avoid outdoor activity and check on elderly neighbors to make sure their air-conditioners are functioning properly.
The county will continue to track deaths as the season continues. “We know that overall it’s getting hotter,” she said.
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