Phoenix Heat Gets Worse, 10-Year-Old Boy Pays the Price

Opinion: Visitors to Arizona have long been at risk of heat-related injuries and deaths. Climate change and drought are making the danger worse for all of us.

On Tuesday, a family visiting from out of state entered the Mormon Trailhead and hiked about a mile to South Mountain Park.

According to media reports, they started in the mid-morning and headed further into one of the country’s largest municipal parks.

After hours in the sun, a 10-year-old boy in the group succumbed to a “heat-related” illness. The boy was airlifted and taken by ambulance to hospital.

He died later that night.

Heat Deaths Are a Recurring Tragedy in Phoenix

We see this same scenario playing out every year in Arizona.

People from out of town trek into our mountain reserves without understanding how vulnerable they are to the valley’s summer heat.

I have written about this many times over several decades.

Often they come from colder climates and are not acclimated to hot, dry conditions.

On Tuesday, the temperature hit 113 degrees, meaning most Arizonans knew to avoid outdoor activities and the deadly sun during the daytime hours, between morning and evening.

But an Arizona trail on a summer morning is a temptation for the uninitiated who know nothing about heat exposure and how too much sun can fatally damage the body’s vital organs.

How heatstroke paralyzes the body

According to the Mayo Clinic, the lethal temperature here is 104 degrees Fahrenheit.

When the body reaches such high temperatures, it redirects blood flow to the skin in an attempt to cool itself, Ollie Jay, a professor of heat and health at the University of Sydney, told The Associated Press.

The bypass carries blood and oxygen from the stomach and intestines, allowing toxins in and around the intestine to leak into the circulatory system, he explained.

“This sets off a cascade of effects: clotting throughout the body, multiple organ failure and, ultimately, death.”

According to the Mayo Clinic, heat stroke attacks the brain, heart, kidneys and muscles.

There is a reason why everything is deserted

Visitors to Arizona often don’t know this and, like many of us desert dwellers, haven’t experienced the first symptoms of overexposure to the sun:

Nausea, confusion, rapid breathing, red skin, which, if not treated with shade and water and lowering body temperature, can develop into something worse: vomiting, delirium, rapid pulse.

Drive a mile or two in the summer through any of our valley communities and you’ll see our knowledge on display.

Our playgrounds are completely empty. Under the blue sky and the sun, they sparkle, but there are no children or parents to be seen.

Our baseball fields are empty and our hiking trails are almost completely deserted.

We need to notify our out-of-town guests

We all, as individuals and as a community, have a responsibility to warn newcomers and visitors about the summer heat.

Our hotels and resorts must constantly remind their guests of the danger. Arizonans must warn their out-of-state relatives and friends to ensure that they do not engage in dangerous activities.

At the Mormon Trailhead, giant signs are posted just off the parking lot warning hikers that heat can kill, with tips on how to stay safe.

As an emergency physician: I saw how the heat of Phoenix kills

But it’s not just people from out of town who are vulnerable.

Other solar scenarios that end in death are also alive in Arizona, as with the native Phoenician who believes he is so well acclimated to the heat that he can attempt to make triple digits by midday.

Phoenix residents also face increasing risk

I did it once on June 27, 1990. It was the day after the hottest day in Phoenix history, when temperatures reached 122 degrees.

I climbed what is now called Piestewa Peak. I didn’t get sunstroke, but I learned something. It was a stupid thing to do.

Every year, like other inhabitants of the region, Phoenicians believe themselves safe from the desert heat. Some take risks, like me. Some die. I also wrote this story.

Last year, 645 people died of heat-related causes in Maricopa County, according to the county’s public health department.

Sixty-five percent of those deaths involved substances, according to county health reports.

Eighty percent of those who died were Maricopa County residents.

With climate change and generational drought, the situation is likely to get worse in the future.

So understand that there is no better antidote to the deadly heat of summer than knowledge.

Knowledge so as not to tempt him.

Phil Boas is an editorial columnist for The Arizona Republic. Email him at [email protected].