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To bring a counterbalancing perspective, in Europe at least, there are an order (or two, depending on the country) of magnitude more deaths from cold than from

To bring a counterbalancing perspective, in Europe at least, there are an order (or two, depending on the country) of magnitude more deaths from cold than from heat[0]. I'd imagine the US, being a primarily northern latitude country, has a similar story. As for the Phoenix numbers, I assume you're referencing this situation[1]; as of a week ago, Maricopa County had 24 confirmed heat-associated death year-to-date, with another 249 deaths under investigation. Maricopa County has four and a half million people, over 60% of Arizona's population; even if all 249 deaths under investigation end up being heat-related, that's still way fewer than deaths from diabetes, suicide, or drug overdoses[2] (reasonably assuming that the causes of death in Maricopa County are proportional to that of the state of Arizona as a whole). That is to say; "unlivable" is a stretch. [0]: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(23)00023-2/fulltext https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5... [1]: https://abcnews.go.com/US/arizona-maricopa-county-phoenix-medical-examiner-capacity-heat/story?id=101739924 https://abcnews.go.com/US/arizona-maricopa-county-phoenix-me... [2]: https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/arizona/arizona.htm https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/pressroom/states/arizona/arizona.ht...

jeffbee 3y ago
As of this week it's 39 confirmed and 312 under investigation. The "under investigation" ones always turn out heat-caused or -related, because that's how summer goes in Phoenix. The number of confirmed heat-caused deaths in Phoenix doubled in the three years to 2022 and quadrupled in the 10 years to 2022. A cause of death doesn't have to double very many times before it becomes a leading cause. The crude deaths among 4.5 million people would be expected to be about 37000 people per year, so over 400 heat-caused deaths is already substantial. If it increases by only 20% it will be a top-10 cause of death.

jeffbee 3y ago

As of this week it's 39 confirmed and 312 under investigation. The "under investigation" ones always turn out heat-caused or -related, because that's how summer goes in Phoenix. The number of confirmed heat-caused deaths in Phoenix doubled in the three years to 2022 and quadrupled in the 10 years to 2022. A cause of death doesn't have to double very many times before it becomes a leading cause. The crude deaths among 4.5 million people would be expected to be about 37000 people per year, so over 400 heat-caused deaths is already substantial. If it increases by only 20% it will be a top-10 cause of death.