Phoenix's city-run cooling centers have had nearly 17,000 visits so far this summer

Cooling centers run by the city of Phoenix have had nearly 17,000 visits since opening their doors in May, according to city data.

Phoenix is running a 24-hour cooling center downtown and is offering extended hours at three libraries for heat relief. The sites are set to stay open through September.

At the same point last summer, Phoenix’s extended-hour heat relief sites had reported about 18% more visits than the sites have seen so far this summer. The decrease in visits this summer could be due to lower temperatures, said David Hondula, director of Phoenix’s Office of Heat Response and Mitigation.

Even with less visitation, Hondula said these sites are especially critical this year, since homelessness has increased and some Valley shelters have recently closed amid funding losses. More than 80% of visitors to the city heat relief sites so far this year have reported being homeless.

“Public health partners in the region are certainly concerned if we see loss of shelter beds, loss of those resources, that could show up as more heat illnesses, more heat-related fatalities, and that’s exactly what we’re trying to prevent,” Hondula said.

Across Maricopa County, 35 heat-related deaths have been confirmed so far this summer and 369 more deaths are under investigation. Those numbers are about 23% lower than what had been reported at the same point last summer.

“I think it’s really hard to value and appreciate how meaningful a safe, cool night is compared to the alternative,” Hondula said. “I think we’re seeing that happen dozens of times over every night throughout the summer.”

EDITOR'S NOTE: This story has been updated to correct the percentage difference between heat-related deaths under investigation last summer compared to this summer.