The long-term forecast for Phoenix for the next 45 days is that temperatures will be over 100 degrees F. Last year, there were 54 days when the temperature was over 110 degrees F. This heat has a story beyond the temperature. Thousands of people were sickened last year, and over 600 people died in Maricopa County, which has 4.4 million residents and is where Phoenix is located.
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Beyond these observations, it is only June, not the hottest month of the year. July and August are still to come. Phoenix has a chance to break its 54-day record.
Alliance And Heat
Despite being located in the world’s most affluent cities and countries, the Phoenix heat significantly affects children, the old, and the poor. Many of these do not have access to air conditioning. Additionally, laborers are not protected by laws that force their employers to let them inside when temperatures are dangerous.
Another economic problem is the stress on Phoenix’s supply of electricity and the grid through which it runs. Much of the energy is delivered by hydropower. And a long period of drought has compromised this as a source.
Most of the world’s focus on heat is on India now, where temperatures are above 120 degrees F as people vote in national elections. Many more people there do not have air conditioning than in the US. However, Phoenix is an example of how climate change does not just occur tens of thousands of miles from America. The perfect storm of heat, health, energy, and the economy is part of what is getting to be an increasingly dangerous American summer.
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