PHOENIX — Phoenix leaders spoke out Thursday about the city's heat relief efforts during a record-breaking and long summer season.
Mayor Kate Gallego, Phoenix Fire officials, heat relief and emergency management leaders, and the director of the homeless solutions department all spoke at the event.
Watch the full press conference in the video player below:
ABC15 has been tracking the dashboard used in Maricopa County all summer. New numbers released on Tuesday show the confirmed heat death totals currently are lower than last year at this time, but the number of deaths under investigation is higher.
Maricopa County told ABC15 earlier this week that it's still too early to project how this season will compare to 2023. They also said the number of heat-related deaths under investigation is the maximum number possible. They said last year, "approximately 75% of the deaths under investigation ended up being confirmed as heat-related."
The National Weather Service said the heat wave that stretched into October saw Phoenix set an annual record of 70 days with highs reaching or passing 110º.
With an overall average temperature of 98.3º Monsoon 2024 was also the hottest monsoon ever recorded in Phoenix, ABC15 Meteorologists reported earlier this month. That breaks the previous record of 96.9º which we just set last year. All of the top 25 hottest monsoon seasons have occurred in the last 25 years.
