More than 400 people are suspected to have died due to extreme heat in the Phoenix area so far this year.
Temperatures have hit over 110 degrees everyday so far this month in Maricopa County, Arizona, save for one day, including an all-time monthly high of 118. At least three daily records have been broken in August as well.
So far this year, the Maricopa County medical examiner’s office has confirmed 35 heat deaths, 17 of which were directly caused by extreme heat, and 18 cases in which heat contributed to the death. An additional 369 are suspected to have died from heat-related causes, but those deaths remain under investigation per the county’s heat surveillance dashboard…