KJZZ is a service of Rio Salado College,
and Maricopa Community Colleges

Copyright © 2024 KJZZ/Rio Salado College/MCCCD
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Maricopa County confirms 331 heat-associated deaths this year so far

Maricopa County has confirmed 331 heat-associated deaths this year. There were 295 as of last week.

While this July was the hottest on record in the Valley, Sonia Singh with the County Department of Public Health says multiple factors lead to heat illness and death.

"It can be both the really long period of extreme heat that we had as well as the high low temperatures that we were experiencing. That really doesn't give people a chance to cool off if they don't have another place to go to cool off from the heat," Singh said.

There are still 273 deaths under investigation.

More stories from KJZZ

Greg Hahne started as a news intern at KJZZ in 2020 and returned as a field correspondent in 2021. He learned his love for radio by joining Arizona State University's Blaze Radio, where he worked on the production team.