The latest data from Maricopa County is painting a worrying picture of heat-related fatalities, with confirmed deaths at 66 so far this year and another 447 cases still under investigation. The Phoenix New Times reports that these numbers could ominously suggest a final count higher than 513, a jarring reminder that last year's record 645 heat deaths could be surpassed. Notably, last year redefined the dire consequences of extreme heat, becoming the 10th leading cause of death in Arizona.

This troubling trend is hitting the homeless community hard, with half of the confirmed heat-related deaths this year affecting those without shelter, according to the same Phoenix New Times report. Strikingly, they make up less than 1% of the county's population. Will Humble, executive director of the nonprofit Arizona Public Health Association, candidly stated, "Quite honestly, the root cause is we have not been dealing with affordable housing and homelessness," in a conversation with Phoenix New Times. The number of unhoused people in metro Phoenix has alarmingly jumped from about 6,300 to nearly 10,000 since 2018.

The struggle against the heat extends beyond Arizona's borders. In Washington state, Avelino Vazquez Navarro, a Mexican farm worker without air conditioning in his motor home, succumbed to the oppressive heat. Franklin County Coroner Curtis McGary told Central Illinois Proud, "If this motor home would’ve had AC and it was running, then it most likely would have helped." Victims like Navarro often have limited income, live alone, and are older than 60, suggesting that socioeconomic status and lack of basic amenities like air conditioning are underappreciated but critical factors in this public health crisis.

Inside the often-metal walls of mobile homes, temperatures can quickly become lethal. Nearly a quarter of indoor heat deaths in Maricopa County last year occurred in such environments. Moreover, energy inequity is starkly highlighted by the fact that most of these victims were from Black, Indigenous, or Latino communities. "Air conditioning is not a luxury, it’s a necessity," Mark Wolfe, executive director of the National Energy Assistance Directors' Association, stated emphatically in a report by Central Illinois Proud. The increasing urgency of the crisis has prompted cities like Portland, Oregon, and Chicago to take measures to mitigate the risks, providing portable cooling units and enacting ordinances to protect the vulnerable.

Even though rising temperatures are a nationwide concern, not all states have adopted the necessary policies to combat the stifling heat. With only 19 states having shut-off protections to prevent loss of power during the summer, many at-risk individuals live under the threat of extreme heat without the safety net of a powered air conditioning unit. This absence of universal safeguards underscores the ongoing challenge of addressing a rapidly warming climate and the concurrent risks in underserved communities.