Heat-related deaths spike and streets hit 160 degrees as Phoenix grapples with record temperatures

While residents of Phoenix aren't strangers to sweltering hot summer temperatures, this year’s heat brings on a new beast.

The capital of Arizona experienced an average of 97 degrees Fahrenheit, which made it the hottest June in the city over more than 100 years of temperature records, according to the National Weather Service . Sky Harbor International Airport in Phoenix recorded 14 days in June at or above 110 degrees.

As a result, heat-related deaths spiked in Maricopa County last month, with 162 deaths suspected to be heat-related and 13 deaths confirmed to be heat-related, which is an 84% increase over the same period last year, according to the Guardian . Heat-related deaths have risen 700% in Maricopa County in the last 10 years.

Last July, each day of the month saw a temperature over 110 degrees Fahrenheit in Arizona’s capital. July 2023 in Phoenix was the hottest month ever recorded in a city in the United States.

The average low temperature over the past seven days has hovered around 91 degrees, which has some worried.

“I’m particularly concerned about those low temperatures, the minimum temperatures,” Randy Cerveny, a professor of geographical sciences at Arizona State University, told KTAR News 92.3 FM . “We’re seeing that those are dramatically increasing.”

“I think before we hit 122 [degrees] again here in Phoenix, we will be getting 100-degree lows first because our low temperatures are going up much faster than our high temperatures are,” Cerveny said.

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New thermal infrared images from NASA show that some roads in Phoenix can reach up to 160 degrees on the hottest days because asphalt absorbs heat. On June 19, when the record high was 106 degrees, roads in Phoenix were recorded to have temperatures between 120 and 160 degrees.

The map highlights the impact of trees and other vegetation on cooling down road surfaces as streets with greenery were cooler than those without. Areas without green space, such as the one around Sky Harbor, recorded the hottest temperatures.