Phoenix could see deadliest year for heat deaths after sweltering summer

Extreme heat contributed to as many as 450 deaths in the Phoenix area this summer, in what could be the deadliest year on record for the desert city in Arizona.

The temperature hit 110F or higher on 22 days this year, yet it was only the 20th hottest summer on record, according to the National Weather Service (NWS). It did not drop below 80F on 75% of nights between June and August. Heat effects are cumulative and the body cannot begin to recover until the temperature drops below 80F.

In recent years, daily temperature highs have been smashed frequently and this year the city broke three daytime and nine night-time records. 911 calls for heat-related medical emergencies rose 13% compared with last year.

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.

Despite several new shelters opening this year, the situation has gotten even worse. Across the city, there are men and women sleeping rough in parks, parking lots and shop doorways, and behind dumpsters and along canals.