Heat deaths in metro Phoenix are going up faster than last summer. Temps continue to break records

Summer in metro Phoenix is proving to be, yet again, one of the hottest on record.

On Wednesday, the mercury tied the record when it hit 117 degrees at Sky Harbor International Airport.

And last week, Maricopa County officials announced that there have been 113 heat-related deaths confirmed so far this year — with another 584 under investigation. That’s a whole lot higher than the number of heat-related deaths we saw at this time last year. And the summer’s not over yet.

Dr. Nick Staab, chief medical officer for the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, joined The Show to talk about what might be behind the disturbing trend.

Transcript

LAUREN GILGER: Good morning, Dr. Staab.

NICK STAAB: Good morning, Lauren.

LAUREN GILGER: OK, so this 113 number that was announced on August 22, what does this look like as compared to around this time last year? I’m hearing reports it’s more than double what we saw at this time then.

NICK STAAB: That’s accurate. So the same time last year, we were recording 49 confirmed deaths in Maricopa County. So we are seeing double the number of confirmed deaths, and a rise in those under investigation — so 584 versus about 400 last year.

LAUREN GILGER: OK. Last year, though, we should say, looked a little better than it had in the years before that. There was an improvement in the number of heat-related deaths in the county. It looked like things were, you know, we were doing better at preventing this, right? We’d seen the city of Phoenix put in a lot of cooling centers; there’s been this kind of concerted effort to get these numbers under control. What do you think has changed this year?

NICK STAAB: So that’s right. The last two summers, we’ve been seeing a decline in the number of heat-related deaths. So that was encouraging for those of us who’ve been working very hard to increase access to cooling centers and make sure that we’re getting services to those who are at highest risk.

I think what this summer is highlighting for us — and we’ve known this — is that heat is multifactorial. There are so many ways that heat is impacting our community. And a summer like this says, you know, we’re doing a lot of the same things we’ve done the last two summers, but we’re seeing a very different outcome. And so we need to continue to think about how we can increase access to cool spaces for everyone in our community, especially those who are at highest risk.

LAUREN GILGER: Yeah. OK, so let me talk about what some of the differences may be. We had a pretty early start to the heat this year. I remember very hot temperatures in March being frustrating to a lot of people. Are temperatures that are not 115, 117 like we saw yesterday, but maybe in the 90s or 100s earlier in the year, going to lead to some increased heat deaths?

NICK STAAB: Absolutely. So I think, you know, those out-of-season high temperatures catch people off guard, and they may not already be thinking about what they need to do to stay cool. So we are concerned for already, we have a very long heat season that we typically say runs May through September. But we know that October stays hot, and a couple two years ago, we kept a lot of our cooling centers open into October because of that. So we need to think about the changing temperatures, the changing season, and just everyone needs to have a plan for how they’re going to stay cool.

LAUREN GILGER: Yeah, I want to also talk about homelessness, because we continue to see an increase in the homeless population here in the Valley, and that must play a role, too. I think the stat from last year was that almost half of the heat deaths were among people experiencing homelessness.

NICK STAAB: That’s correct. So we know that people who are unsheltered or have unstable housing are at increased risk, especially when we’re seeing those high overnight lows. You know, lows in the 90s, definitely, if you’re living outdoors, your body doesn’t have the opportunity to cool down.

So we are very focused on ensuring greater access to people who are experiencing homelessness, working with our homeless service partners through the Heat Relief Network, and really trying to extend hours of operation, especially into the evenings and overnight where possible, to get people a cool place for as long as the day is hot, which is all day.

LAUREN GILGER: Yeah. How much does this have to do with drug use, specifically methamphetamines, Dr. Staab? Like, are we seeing a rise in specific kinds of drugs on the streets, and therefore you’ll see more heat deaths?

NICK STAAB: Drug use definitely plays a part in heat deaths. So we see roughly 50% of deaths involving substances. Methamphetamines are our biggest concern because they amplify the effect of heat on the body.

And so another thing that we are looking into with our partners, poison control and the Medical Examiner’s Office, is, you know, what are we seeing in terms of these deaths that are involving substances? Is substance use becoming more potent and increasing the risk of severe outcomes? And how are we providing access to people who are using drugs to cool spaces? Because we know that that’s a barrier to access and something we need to think about if we intend to keep driving these numbers down.

LAUREN GILGER: Right, like if you are a drug user, you cannot use drugs inside a cooling center or a shelter, things like that.

NICK STAAB: That is correct.

LAUREN GILGER: Yeah. I mentioned nearly half of heat deaths last year had to do with homelessness. But what about the other half? Like, who else is at risk here?

NICK STAAB: So we know people who have maybe substandard housing, who can’t keep their homes or where they’re living as cool as is optimal, are at risk. We’re thinking about older adults who also have other medical problems, maybe on prescription drugs that don’t allow their bodies to tolerate the heat. So there are many different populations that are at risk.

But one of the biggest points that we try to drive home every year is that everybody who is visiting or living in Maricopa County is at risk from this heat. We can all find ourselves in situations where, you know, the heat is getting the better of us, and we need to have a plan to get out of the heat and stay safe.

LAUREN GILGER: Right. So talk about those measures that we should all be taking. If anyone’s at risk here, right, what should we all be doing? What maybe don’t folks know, before I let you go here?

NICK STAAB: I mean, easy things that our parents, for those of us who’ve grown up here, have always told us: You need to stay hydrated. You need to be drinking water before you get thirsty. You need to just be safe about the heat, making sure that you’re staying indoors during the hottest part of the day. And if you are doing outdoor activities, that you’re doing it wisely, thinking about both your hydration status as well as doing those activities at a time of day that’s safe.

And the last thing is, this needs to be a community effort. We need to be checking on our friends and family and those who are at high risk. I know this time of year when kids go back to school, we all start thinking about fall temperatures, but this heat is going to be with us for another month, and we need to be all working together.

LAUREN GILGER: We’re certainly not there yet. All right, Dr. Nick Staab, chief medical officer for the Maricopa County Department of Public Health, joining us. Dr. Staab, thank you very much for coming on. Appreciate it.

NICK STAAB: Thank you, Lauren.