The heat in Phoenix is getting worse – and a 10-year-old boy paid the price
Opinion: Visitors to Arizona have long been vulnerable to heat injury and death. Climate change and drought are exacerbating the danger for us all.
Safety tips for hiking in Arizona
Before you hit the trails of Arizona, consider these hiking safety tips.
On Tuesday, a family visiting from out of state entered the Mormon Trailhead and hiked about a mile into South Mountain Park.
According to media reports, they began sometime in the morning and penetrated deeper into one of the largest city parks in the country.
After hours in the sun, a 10-year-old child from this group succumbed to a “heat-related” illness. The boy was flown out by helicopter and taken to hospital by ambulance.
He died later that night.
Heat deaths are an annual tragedy in Phoenix
We experience this scenario every year in Arizona.
People from outside the area set out to hike in our nature reserves without realising how vulnerable they are to the valley’s summer heat.
I have written about this many times over the course of several decades.
They often come from colder regions and are not used to hot, dry conditions.
On Tuesday, temperatures rose to 46 degrees, meaning most Arizonans should avoid being outdoors and the deadly sun during the day – between morning and evening.
But a hiking trail in Arizona on a summer morning is a temptation for the uninitiated, who has no idea about heat stress and how too much sun can fatally damage the body’s vital organs.
How heat stroke paralyzes the body
According to the Mayo Clinic, the fatal temperature here is 40 degrees Celsius.
When the body reaches such high temperatures, it diverts blood flow to the skin to try to cool itself, Ollie Jay, a professor of heat and health at the University of Sydney, told the Associated Press.
The diversion removes blood and oxygen from the stomach and intestines, allowing toxins from the intestines and surrounding area to enter the bloodstream, he explained.
“This triggers a cascade of effects. Blood clots in 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 do not know this and – unlike many of us desert dwellers – have never experienced the first symptoms of excessive sun exposure:
The nausea, confusion, rapid breathing, reddened skin can worsen if not countered with shade and water and a reduction in body temperature: vomiting, delirium, racing pulse.
Drive a mile or two through any of our Valley communities in the summer and you will see our knowledge in action.
Our playgrounds are completely empty. They glitter under a bright blue sky and sunshine, but not a child or parent is to be seen.
Our baseball fields are empty and our hiking trails are almost completely deserted.
We must warn our guests from outside
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 continually remind their guests of the danger. Arizona residents should warn relatives and friends from out of state and make sure they do not engage in dangerous activities.
At the Mormon Trailhead, right next to the parking lot, there are huge signs warning hikers about the deadly heat and offering tips for their safety.
As an emergency doctor: I saw how the heat kills in Phoenix
But it is not only foreigners who are at risk.
Other sun scenarios that end in death are also ubiquitous in Arizona. For example, the native Phoenician believes he is so used to the heat that he can reach temperatures around three digits in the middle of the day.
Phoenix residents are also at increasing risk
This happened to me once, on June 27, 1990. It was the day after the hottest day in Phoenix history, when temperatures reached 49 degrees.
I hiked to the top of what is now Piestewa Peak. I didn’t get heat stroke, but I learned something. It was a stupid thing to do.
Every year there are Phoenicians who, like outsiders, believe they are immune to the desert heat. And some take the risk, like me. Some die. I wrote this story too.
According to the county health department, 645 people died from heat-related causes in Maricopa County last year.
Drugs were involved in 65 percent of these deaths, according to a report from the county health department.
80 percent of the fatalities were residents of Maricopa County.
Given climate change and drought that will persist for generations, the situation is likely to worsen in the future.
Realize that there is no better antidote to the deadly summer heat than knowledge.
Knowing not to give in to temptation.
Phil Boas is an editorial columnist for The Arizona Republic. You can reach him by email at [email protected].
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