"By far the worst year": Phoenix doctor says Arizona hospital overwhelmed by heat-related illnesses

Record ID: 1736811

  • Title: "By far the worst year": Phoenix doctor says Arizona hospital overwhelmed by heat-related illnesses
  • Date: 7th August 2023
  • Summary: PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES (AUGUST 2, 2023) (Reuters) ENTERING THE ROOM WHERE THE ICE BATH PROCEDURE IS DONE
  • Embargoed: 21st August 2023 15:53
  • Keywords: Arizona Phoenix heat wave
  • Location: PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES
  • City: PHOENIX, ARIZONA, UNITED STATES
  • Country: US
  • Topics: Environment,North America,Temperature
  • Reuters ID: LVA007184102082023RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: As the world registered the hottest month of all time in July, the southwestern U.S. city of Phoenix shattered its own 1974 heat-wave record, with temperatures above 110 degrees Fahrenheit (43°C) for 31 straight days.
    Heat-sensitive photography in late July reveals an even hotter Phoenix, where concrete on the street registers 150 F (66°C), outdoor workers' bodies reach 105 F (41°C) and homeless people swelter, surrounded by surfaces as hot as 143 F (62°C).
    Before 10 a.m. at one of the city's favorite sites - the Desert Botanical Garden - the thermometer is already at 111F (44°C), but a Saguaro cactus records a surface temperature of 120F (49°C). A man walks on a road with no shirt and a bottle of water. The camera puts his temperature at 105F.
    The summer monsoon rains that historically help Phoenix residents and the vegetation cool down have been scant this year and even the cacti have started to collapse.
    Health workers say hospitals have been inundated with patients suffering from heat-stroke, sometimes life-threatening.
    ""It's a very, very troubling time," said Dr. Frank LoVecchio at Valleywise Health in Phoenix. "We haven't been this busy with regard to saturation in the hospital with the number of patients that are this sick since the COVID pandemic."
    Patients are put into an ice slurry to bring their temperatures down as quickly as possible.
    At noon, the record temperature is 109F but the surface temperature is a furnace-like 150F. A construction worker drinks water and the camera shows his body is at 105F.
    Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, is now a city of 1.6 million, the fifth most populous in the United States. It sprang to life over 150 years ago with the arrival of the pioneers, who built irrigation canals to make the land fertile.
    Despite its location in the Sonoran Desert - which stretches across the U.S. southwest and into northern Mexico - Phoenix has become a favorite place for retirees, attracted by year-round sun and its ochre mountain backdrop.
    Sometimes people pass out on the scalding pavement, suffering serious burns on their bodies.
    With day after day of relentless heat and evenings that remain at 90F (32°C), there is little chance for the homeless to recover and hydrate. The heat also worsens conditions like diabetes, lung disease, and heart issues. And some suffer memory loss and cognitive decline.
    Maricopa County, where Phoenix is located, reported 39 confirmed heat-associated deaths by the end of July, with over 300 more under investigation to determine if they were caused by heat.
    (Production: Liliana Salgado)
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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