“Messaging alone won’t help, nor will handing out water bottles or investing in housing alone.” “It’s not just about heat, it’s a multifactorial problem that requires more coordination and creativity to line up the different pieces of the solutions portfolio,” said David Hondula, who leads the city’s – and North America’s – first extreme heat office. Still, this year’s high death toll is alarming given the cooling seasonal rains and the city’s first coordinated effort to reduce heat deaths, which involved more than a dozen agencies in addition to a gaggle of non-profits and grassroots activists. One in five confirmed heat deaths this year occurred indoors, and initial reports suggest the soaring cost of living may have played a role as 80% of victims did not have functioning air conditioning.
“There’s lots of new energy and effort around long-term housing solutions, but big system pieces needed to end homelessness don’t move quickly,” said Amy Schwabenlender, executive director of the Human Services Campus in the zone.Įviction rates in Maricopa county are higher than pre-pandemic levels, and inflation hit 13% in Phoenix last month – a record for any US city according to data going back 20 years. On very hot days the temperature can reach 160F on the asphalt where people are camped. Last week, outreach workers counted 1,006 people sleeping in tents, under makeshift shelters or on the ground in just one relatively compact downtown area known as the zone, where many of the city’s shelters and homeless services are concentrated. Across the city, there are men and women sleeping rough in parks, parking lots and shop doorways, and behind dumpsters and along canals. Being outside without adequate shade and water increases the risk of medical complications and deadly heat exposure.ĭespite several new shelters opening this year, the situation has gotten even worse. Phoenix is also one of the fastest growing and most expensive cities in the US, with a crippling shortage of affordable housing and a rapidly growing homeless population.Īccording to the county’s annual count, there were 5,029 people sleeping on the streets in January – triple the number of unsheltered people compared with 2016. Heat deaths are preventable, yet have doubled since 2016, and it’s not just down to the heat. 911 calls for heat-related medical emergencies rose 13% compared with last year. In recent years, daily temperature highs have been smashed frequently and this year the city broke three daytime and nine night-time records. Phoenix, the capital of Arizona and the country’s fifth-largest city, with 1.6 million people, is accustomed to a hot desert climate, but temperatures are rising due to global heating and urban development, which has created a sprawling asphalt and concrete heat island that traps heat especially at night. “The long-term increase in summertime temps seems to be playing at least some role in the increasing number of heat deaths over the years.” “Deaths tend to increase during our hottest days, especially when combined with very warm nights,” said Marvin Percha, a meteorologist with the NWS Phoenix. Bar chart of heat-related deaths in Maricopa county
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