Arizona Heat Wave Death Toll Rises to 39 in State’s Largest County

Health officials bring in portable morgues to prepare for a possible surge in new heat-related deaths

Homeless residents in Phoenix, Ariz., take shelter from 109-degree temperatures sitting under a mist sprayer on Aug. 3, 2023. Allan Stein/The Epoch Times

PHOENIX, Ariz.—All across America’s arid southwest, the temperatures have been brutal—and lethal—this past month with little relief as states continue to report more heat-related deaths.

In Arizona’s largest and most populated county, Maricopa, the annual death toll rose to 39, with 14 confirmed new cases reported by the end of July.