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It's not just saguaros — the heat is withering all types of plants in Phoenix

It’s been a record hot summer in the Southwest and across the globe. In the Phoenix area, it's taken a toll on everything from air conditioning bills, to the people who work and live outside, to the desert fauna and flora.

The Sonoran desert’s iconic saguaros are falling over from the heat, and now there's trees with scorched leaves, black burn marks on succulents and shriveled up bushes all over the city.

The Show spoke with Melanie Tluczek, the director of science and education at the McDowell Sonoran Conservancy in north Scottsdale, to find out what’s happening and why.

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Lauren Gilger, host of KJZZ's The Show, is an award-winning journalist whose work has impacted communities large and small, exposing injustices and giving a voice to the voiceless and marginalized.