Las Vegas' heat has killed more than 100 this year, coroner's office says

LAS VEGAS — Southern Nevada’s brutal summer has killed 123 people this year, according to the most recent numbers released by the Clark County coroner’s office.

That marks a significant increase in the summer death toll, which was last released at the end of July. At that time, 63 heat-related deaths were reported.

Ariel Choinard, coordinator of the Desert Research Institute’s Southern Nevada Heat Resilience Lab, said she was dismayed by the sharp increase in numbers. The lab’s working group, which brings together people from government and nonprofits after intense bouts of extreme heat events, meets Wednesday and will discuss the spike, she said.

“This is a systemic issue,” Choinard said. “Heat takes lives. Even though we’re all exposed to extreme heat, it’s experienced unequally depending on who you are, where in town you live and how well-resourced you are.”

On Tuesday, the coroner’s office released the new data, which included the causes of death and identities for 90 of the people whose deaths were heat-related. Primary causes of death range from heat stroke to the toxic effects of methamphetamine.

The office only released details about those whose families had been notified of their deaths.

Las Vegas’ temperatures this summer have been far from normal, with the city breaking an all-time record of 120 degrees, which scientists said was made five times more likely because of climate change. The city’s nights are getting hotter than ever before, too, inhibiting the body’s ability to cool itself.

It can take up to 90 days for the coroner’s office to investigate most deaths, a spokesperson for the office said, meaning there are likely others that aren’t yet accounted for.

Last year, the total number of deaths where heat was declared a factor shot up to 309 from 169 — about an 80 percent increase when compared with the previous year, the spokesperson said.

Victims skew older, some with preexisting conditions

The 90 people identified on Tuesday have a median age of 68. The youngest, whose primary cause of death was attributed to meth use, was 25.

Heat can have cumulative effects on the body, exacerbating the effects of drug use and preexisting conditions such as diabetes, said Dr. Joanne Leovy, a retired physician who founded Nevada Clinicians for Climate Action.

Certain prescription medications can make people feel heat more intensely as well, she said.

“It’s difficult to tackle,” Leovy said of heat death prevention among those most vulnerable. “Substance abuse problems make it really, really complex.”

Calls for adaptation

While Leovy said she’s not necessarily surprised to learn of the increase in heat deaths, every headline about extreme heat should be a wake-up call, she said.

She pointed to a recent study of heat adaptation measures in Europe, which showed that advances in health care, increased public messaging and other actions greatly reduced heat-related deaths overall.

It’s time for Las Vegas and Nevada to follow suit and work on solutions to do the same, Leovy said. She’d like to see a dedicated chief heat officer take the helm of the region’s response to heat, as has happened in Los Angeles, Miami and the state of Arizona.

“We know it’s going to get hotter,” she said. “But that doesn’t mean we have to accept this amount of heat-related emergency department visits or deaths.”

Choinard, whose heat resilience lab has spearheaded local response to extreme heat, said it’s a persistent challenge to combat “warning fatigue,” where residents don’t take heat warnings seriously because they are triggered so frequently.

The death toll won’t be final for months to come, and the worst of summer may be behind Southern Nevada. Still, Choinard said Las Vegas residents should proceed with caution.

“When it gets really hot, remember to check on your neighbors,” she said. “Pay attention to the forecast.”

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