Phoenix mayor calls for more federal funding for extreme heat

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego is again calling on the state and federal government to do more to address extreme heat.

After years of increases, Phoenix saw its annual number of heat-related deaths decrease slightly over the past two years.

“This bend in the curve did not happen by accident,” Gallego told reporters during a climate change-focused press event Monday.

Gallego said targeted city investments in cooling and other heat relief programs contributed to the drop in fatalities.

The city largely depended on pandemic-era federal aid to pay for those programs. Those American Rescue Plan Act funds expire at the end of this year.

So the Phoenix City Council approved a budget for next year that will dedicate more of the city’s general funds to heat relief. But Gallego said the city can’t solve the problem of heat-related deaths alone.

“Heat does not stop at city borders,” Gallego said. “We could do so much more with better partnerships from other cities, from the state of Arizona and from the federal government.”

Gallego has been calling for more state and federal assistance for heat for several years. And Democrats in the Arizona Legislature and in Congress have proposed bills to help cities mitigate the effects of heat, but those have largely been unsuccessful.

Gallego said federal programs for household energy assistance, transportation and infrastructure, affordable housing, or disaster relief could all be expanded to help communities like Phoenix cope with rising temperatures.

“This challenge is here; it is not going away, and the federal government could save lives if they stepped up,” Gallego said.