For more information see our Privacy Policy. Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain info about charities, online ads, and content funded by outside parties. It is also serving as a hydration station, distributing free bottles of water. More than 200 hydration stations distributing bottles of water and cooling centers where potentially thousands of people can rest in air-conditioned spaces have been open in public spaces such as libraries, churches and businesses around the Phoenix area.īut advocates for the most vulnerable have questioned whether more can be done to expand access to cooling centers particularly during the excessively hot nights when the temperatures do not go down with the sun.Ĭharles Sanders spent last Friday afternoon with his chihuahua mix Babygirl at the air-conditioned Justa Center, which offers daytime services to older homeless people in downtown Phoenix. The city, seen as a leader in addressing the rising toll of extreme heat, was the first in the country to fund a dedicated heat department in 2021. Only 6.8% of Maricopa’s population is Black, but 11% of heat-related fatalities were Black people. The county’s statistics also show that the disparities run along racial lines. Of the people who died indoors, all of them were living in homes and buildings that were not cooled. Fifty-six per cent of those who succumbed to the heat last year in Maricopa county were unhoused. Heat, a silent killer, is the most deadly disaster in this region, but its impacts highlight a deep divide. There have been 12 heat-related deaths in the Phoenix area so far in 2023, with 55 other deaths currently under investigation, according to the Maricopa county health department. Heat-related fatalities have risen sharply over the last two years, culminating with 425 deaths in 2022, and city officials are racing to ensure this devastating trend does not continue. Along with longer stretches of scorching days, nights are growing hotter, offering limited relief. The city’s residents are accustomed to hot weather but as temperature highs and lows continue to break records, risks are rising. Downtown Phoenix during the heatwave over the weekend.
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