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Is the rising number of Arizona heat deaths related to homelessness?

By Carmela Guaglianone
YES

Last year, as Phoenix endured one of its hottest summers on record, nearly half of those who died from the Arizona heat were unhoused. People experiencing homelessness have accounted for a growing share of the state’s total heat deaths over the past decade, as temperatures have steadily risen. In Maricopa County, heat-related deaths grew from 76 in 2013 to 645 in 2023.

People experiencing homelessness are particularly vulnerable to extreme heat. A lack of access to air conditioning can be fatal during a heat wave. Public messaging, like heat alerts, often fail to reach people experiencing homelessness, who may not have access to a phone or cell service.

Unhoused populations also died from substance-related heat deaths more often than housed people because exposure to the heat can make drug use particularly dangerous. Extreme temperatures could exacerbate deadly side effects of methamphetamines and fentanyl like dehydration or hyperthermia.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
Arizona Department of Economic Security Homelessness Annual Report 2022
Maricopa County Department of Public Health 2023 Heat Related Deaths Report
Maricopa County Department of Public Health 2022 Heat Related Deaths Report
Arizona Department of Health Services Heat Safety
Environmental Protection Agency What Climate Change Means for Arizona
National Weather Service Phoenix Heat Page
CalPoly Pomona Stimulants
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The Arizona Center for Investigative Reporting is the state’s only independent, nonpartisan and collaborative nonprofit newsroom dedicated to statewide, data-driven investigative reporting. AZCIR's mission is to hold powerful people and institutions accountable by exposing injustice and systemic inequities through investigative journalism.
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