Phoenix (AZ Family) — We’ve had an unusually hot start to this summer and sadly (as of Wednesday morning) there have already been 23 confirmed heat-related deaths in Maricopa County this year.

There have been 322 other deaths, which are also under investigation to see if they were due to heatstroke.

The majority of the deaths were in people who were outdoors, according to the latest report. Of the four heatstroke deaths that occurred indoors, two occurred in homes with broken air conditioning and the other two occurred in homes where the air conditioning was turned off, the county reported.

By comparison, there were 18 confirmed heatstroke deaths and 168 under investigation at this time last year. This means that 2024 is on track to see an increase in heatstroke deaths compared to 2023 through mid-July.

While this is concerning, it does not necessarily mean that the number of heat stroke deaths in 2024 will surpass the tragic 645 heat stroke deaths that occurred in all of 2023 in Maricopa County.

While heatstroke deaths depend on factors other than temperature, this year's numbers coincide with a very hot start to the summer. In fact, June 1 through July 17 were Phoenix's hottest days on record.

Since the “meteorological summer” runs from June 1 to August 31, this will be the first half of Phoenix's hottest summer on record.

Tap/click here Additional information regarding heat relief in Maricopa County.

See the latest weather forecast here.

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