Deadly metro Phoenix heat demands action, Maricopa County official says

Central Arizona must adapt to increasingly dangerous heat waves, a top Maricopa County official says, and he's pledging to work with Arizona State University to do it.

Heat doesn't surprise anyone in a metro area that has always weathered triple-digit temperatures in summers, but the triple-digit death toll should, said Steve Chucri, who became chairman of the County Board of Supervisors this month. He considers the lengthening season for extreme heat a challenge to both public health and economic development.

"We have to start paying attention," said Chucri, a Paradise Valley Republican.

An Arizona Republic investigation last fall found that a combination of global warming and urban growth's tendency to retain heat has extended Phoenix's 100-degree season by six weeks over the past century. Last summer's 25 days at or above 110 degrees represented about a doubling of the historical average.

At least 150 people in Maricopa County died of heat-related causes in 2016. For 2017, public health officials have confirmed 129 heat-associated deaths, with 51 still under investigation.

Chucri said he has visited the county morgue and was struck by the condition in which heat left the bodies of people who lived and died without air-conditioning. He wants to work with ASU to determine how technology might minimize heat emitted by A/C units, and how market-friendly changes in building and shading Phoenix might cool public spaces.

ASU researchers have made Phoenix a leading center for urban heat studies, and in recent months the university approached the county about teaming up for solutions, said Sethuraman Panchanathan, the school's executive vice president for research and innovation.

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The university wants to take some of its research out of the laboratory and into heat-vulnerable neighborhoods, he said. That would mean teaming with the county, cities and other partners to test cooler building designs, energy efficiency, bicycle and pedestrian connections, water-efficient greenery and heat-repelling pavements.

They're just starting to meet and brainstorm.

"In addition to coming up with nice ideas, we're also interested in determining which ideas can be practically implemented," Panchanathan said. "If we can address these things proactively then we (in metro Phoenix) can rest assured that we have a bright future."

Making physical changes to neighborhoods will require the involvement of local planners and developers.

"We need people to embrace these ideas," Panchanathan said.

Arizona officials of all political parties need to address and adapt to climate change, Chucri said. Otherwise, he said, the local climate — one of Arizona's historical economic Five C's, along with copper, cattle, cotton and citrus — could lose its luster for people and businesses looking to relocate.

"We have to figure this out," he said. As a lifelong Arizonan, he added, "I want my kids to stay."

Environmental coverage on azcentral.com and in the Arizona Republic is supported by a grant from the Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust. Follow the azcentral and Arizona Republic environmental reporting team at OurGrandAZ on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

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