Extreme Heat: Maricopa County & Southern Arizona Release Data

Southern Arizona hosted an Extreme Heat Summit on February 1^st and has released a report from the event. Key takeaways include strengthening community resilience by increasing accessible cooling sites and transportation to those centers; expanding public health responses, such as messaging to educate communities about risks and available resources; enhancing workforce heat protection to improve outdoor workplace safety; expanding weatherization programs and reinforcing energy infrastructure; and increasing investments in sustainable infrastructure, along with coordination and policy initiatives that address Arizona’s unique climate challenges.

The Maricopa County Department of Public Health has released preliminary data from 2024, revealing 602 heat-related deaths that occurred in 2024, 43 fewer than in 2023. Eight other deaths remain under investigation. Sixty-one percent of all heat-related deaths were directly caused by environmental heat, meaning that heat was the primary cause of death in these cases rather than just a contributing factor. More than half of all heat-related deaths involved individuals aged 35 to 64 years, and 79% were among males. Outdoor conditions continue to account for most heat-related deaths, making up 77%, while 23% occurred indoors. Of those indoor deaths, an air-conditioning unit was present in 88% of the cases, but it was not functioning in 70% and was not in use in 18%. In Maricopa County, individuals experiencing homelessness represented the largest share of heat-related deaths in 2024, compared to any other living situation, at 50%.

Action Alert

Clean energy delivers massive benefits, from good-paying jobs to lower pollution risks and lower energy prices. The American people overwhelmingly support clean energy.  Clean energy investments are being offered to communities nationwide, and defunding clean energy will increase pollution and put people out of work. The cost of obstructing clean energy progress is too high: from slower job growth and lost economic benefits to volatile energy prices and increasingly damaging and expensive extreme weather disasters. Sign on to a letter to Congress, supporting ongoing support of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) clean energy investments and incentives.

                                                                        Sign Here

What We Are Reading & Listening to Now

• Let’s protect Arizona’s supercharged EV industry (AZ Capitol Times)
• Local opinion: How EVs and clean energy can save lives (AZ Daily Star)
• Bill would block wind energy projects across 90% of AZ (azcentral)
• AZ Senate passes bill that attempts to prevent CA-style blackouts (Prescott eNews)
• AZ bill ignores climate change, blames poor air quality on other countries (The Copper Courier)
• Bad air days: Phoenix-area smog is getting worse, but AZ GOP lawmakers want Trump to block EPA ozone rules (Cronkite News)
• Climate Backtracker (Columbia Law School)
• Sneezing Season is Getting Worse (K. Hayhoe Substack)
• Study on tap water affordability [Horizon Interview], Report, and Webinar (Kyler Center for Water Policy)

Join Us: Webinars & Events

• March 18^th: 5:30 pm Monthly meeting AzNA Climate Change & Health Workgroup Zoom
• April 9^th: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (MST): Climate Change and Farming: Worker Protections and Community Resiliency Register
• April 15^th – April 17^th, 12:00 pm – 4:00 pm (ET): Save the Date.The 4^th Annual National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) Meeting. Virtual sessions are free to attend.Update: 2/24: Website states meeting postponed.
• April 22^nd Earth Day
• May 5^th – 9^th Arizona Heat Preparedness Week
• May 21^st: 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm (MST): Impacts of Heat on Vulnerable Populations Register

   

  Recordings

• March 6^th: Tap Water Affordability in Arizona Recording
• February 5^th: Region 9 Pacific Southwest Center for Emergency Public Health: Heat Surveillance, Preparedness Strategies and Community Response Webinar featuring LA County and Maricopa County Recording
• Recording: Webinar with author and Pediatrician Debra Hendrickson on her new book The Air They Breathe: A Pediatrician on the Front Lines of Climate Change. Recording.
• Recording from December 10^th’s webinar: Perspectives on Plastic Lifecycle Series: Plastics Use and Demand Recording.
• Recording from December 11^th’s webinar:A panel discussion on Extreme Weather in Arizona Recording.
• Recording from 3^rd Annual National Integrated Heat Health Information System (NIHHIS) National Meeting 2024 Here

Thank you for joining us in making a healthier planet today!