Analysis: Days In Arizona With A Heat Index Higher Than 105 Could Quadruple
Download mp3 (14.05 MB)There’s an excessive heat warning in effect on Tuesday for the Phoenix area. The National Weather Service says the high could reach 115, after topping out at 114 on Monday.
In fact, the number of days with a heat index higher than 100 degrees in Arizona could more than double by the middle of the century, and the number of days with a heat index higher than 105 could more than quadruple in that time.
Those numbers are based on the current rate of emissions and climate change, and come from an analysis done by the Union of Concerned Scientists.
To talk more about this research, The Show reached out to Astrid Caldas, a senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, and one of the report’s co-authors.
But how will this affect the Arizona population?
The Maricopa County Public Health Department said there have been three confirmed heat-related deaths so far in 2019, with 37 more cases under investigation. Both numbers are higher than over the same time last year.
To talk about the impact this heat can have and is having, The Show also spoke with Dr. David Brodkin, a pediatric hospitalist at Maricopa Medical Center.
