Pima County releases 2024 heat report that includes changes for next year

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The Pima County Health Department has released its preliminary heat report for 2024.

A copy of this report is available HERE.

“Overall, I think the response has been better than in 2023,” said Dr. Theresa Cullen, Pima County Health Director. “I think it will be better by 2025.”

According to the report, 91 people died from heat-related problems last summer, while 779 required hospitalization.

But without efforts to help people, the death toll would have been higher.

“If our goal is to make sure we preserve life and reduce the impacts of heat, I think we’ve done a good job,” Cullen said.

Pima County opened nearly 40 cooling or recovery centers for those who needed a break from the scorching heat.

As for whether there will be additional respite centers, there is little doubt that they will be more targeted to the communities that need them most.

It’s likely there will be more centers in stressed communities where some people will suffer from the heat rather than pay an electric bill they may not be able to afford. Lower-income communities are also being targeted.

The goal is to establish a respite center within one to three miles of those who need it.

It was a lesson we learned this year.

“We need to make sure we have adequate access to a heat relief center in certain areas where we haven’t had one this year,” Cullen said.

Almost 15,000 people came to these relief centers this year, there were more than 21,000 searches on the Internet and on July 15 alone, when there was a major power outage, there were more than 5,000.

But district health also wants people to take personal responsibility, because cooling centers can only help to a limited extent. Age, medications, and even weight gain can have an impact on heat resistance.

“Humans become accustomed to living in high temperatures,” Cullen said. “The caveat: Just because you’ve lived in Tucson for 20 years doesn’t mean you’re not at risk.”

Pima County will submit a final report with details in December. But the one detail that’s probably at the top of the list: it gets warmer as time goes on.

“Heat is a threat, it is a threat to individuals, it is a threat to the community, it is a threat to public health,” Cullen said.

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