PHOENIX (AP) — The Western United States is expected to experience an extremely hot summer. Numerous fatalities, including those of pensioners in Oregon, a biker in Death Valley, California, and a 10-year-old kid who passed away while hiking with his family on a Phoenix path, are thought to have been caused by the heat.
The nation’s leading cause of weather-related deaths is heat. However, it is unclear precisely how many people perished in the recent heat wave that started on July 1 since county death certificates are generated using a patchwork of methodologies, and inquiries into suspected heat fatalities can take months.
There are signs that these two weeks were particularly lethal.
Joellen Russell, a climate scientist at the University of Arizona in Tucson, stated on Friday that “this is just a harbinger of things to come.” “The additional carbon dioxide we add to the atmosphere has triggered all of this extreme weather, including heat waves, hurricanes, thunderstorms, droughts, and wildfires.”
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where the majority of deaths happened
In Santa Clara County, Northern California, where temperatures this month reached low triple digits due to a heat wave, 19 fatalities are being looked examined for potential heat-related causes. Nine of the deceased were over 65, and four were homeless, according to the medical examiner’s office.
It is believed that record-high temperatures in Oregon, mostly in the Portland metro region, have killed at least 16 people.
According to the county coroner’s office, there have been nine verified heat-related deaths in Clark County, Nevada, which includes Las Vegas, this year.
A 2-year-old girl who died after being left alone in a hot car outside of Tucson and a 4-month-old who passed away after becoming unwell while on a boat on Lake Havasu are just two of the recent tragedies involving tiny children that are the subject of investigations in Arizona.
How sweltering it has been
This month, high temperatures in the western states have broken records. On July 5, Palm Springs, California, recorded its highest temperature ever, which was 124 degrees Fahrenheit (51.1 degrees Celsius), and on July 7, Las Vegas registered its highest temperature ever, 120 degrees Fahrenheit (48.8 degrees Celsius).
During the current heat wave, Las Vegas cooked in a record seven straight days of 115 F (46.1 C) or higher, nearly doubling the previous record of four consecutive days established in July 2005, according to the National Weather Service. Since June 1, the city has experienced at least 18 heat records.
The National Weather Service reports that on July 7, the temperature in California’s Death Valley reached 129 F (53.8 C), matching the day record established in 2007. Wednesday’s high in Phoenix, which was 115 F (46.1 C), tied the day record that had been set in 1934 and 1958.
Prior to Tuesday, when it reached 104 F (40 C), Portland, Oregon, had set new records for daily high temperatures five days in a row.
Why it’s unclear how many people died
The number of deaths caused by the intense heat is uncertain since different authorities use different methods to determine these deaths. However, certain U.S. Southwest counties perform better than the majority of the county.
Tucson is located in Pima County, the second most populated county in Arizona. Last year, the government launched a new web dashboard that included heat-related mortality. Phoenix, the hottest major city in America, is located in Maricopa County, which has long kept track of heat-related fatalities. The Nevada county of Clark, where Las Vegas is located, now records deaths in which heat was a significant cause.
However, the majority of countries’ counts of heat-related fatalities are unreliable. In certain regions, medical examiners, who are usually doctors with training in forensic pathology, conduct death examinations. In some places, like Orange County, California, the coroner may be an elected sheriff. A judge of the peace may decide the cause of death in several little counties in Texas.
Since the figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention rely on data from death certificates that are sourced from municipal, state, tribal, and territorial databases, they are sometimes several years behind in reporting and provide an incomplete picture.
This year, the consequences of extreme heat were mentioned on the death certificates of almost 2,300 Americans who passed away, the greatest number in 45 years of records, according to an Associated Press study of CDC data. That, according to physicians, public health specialists, and meteorologists, is only a portion of the true cost.
The reason for confirmation delays
In certain situations, pathologists may need many months to conclude if a death was caused by heat.
Distinguishing between a heat-related death and a suicide by hanging or homicide by gunshot to the head is not always straightforward. If heat was a contributing cause, toxicological testing may be required over the course of weeks or even months.
When a corpse is discovered in a heated apartment a few days after a death, there is a lot of uncertainty for detectives to sort through. It is hard to determine the exact temperature inside a residence at the time of death, even though it could have been quite hot when the body was discovered.
Determining the usage of substances like alcohol or illegal drugs can also be a lengthy process using toxicological testing.
Due to the delay, the Maricopa County Public Health Department was unable to release its final total of 645 heat-related fatalities for 2023 until this spring. A heart attack brought on by a high temperature was one of the deaths in which heat was not the primary cause.
The prediction
Although the weather in Portland, Oregon, has dropped, highs in the low 90s were predicted for the weekend, with temperatures also predicted to rise slightly in Salem and Eugene.
An extreme heat warning is expected to last through Saturday, according to the National Weather Service in Phoenix. Sunday and early next week are expected to see lows of 110 F (43.3 C), and 111 F (43.8 C) on Saturday.
After being under an extreme heat warning for ten days, Las Vegas was predicted to see somewhat cooler temperatures over the weekend. The National Weather Service stated that next week’s highs, which will range from 110 to 112 F (43.3 to 44.4 C), are still expected to be higher than average.
And summer has not yet ended.
