ROB SCHMITZ, HOST:
Here in the U.S., much of the West and Southwest regions of the country remain under an extreme heat warning. In Spokane, Washington, thousands of residents have been told to evacuate this weekend as rapidly moving fires engulf Eastern Washington. Meanwhile, further south in Phoenix, Arizona, temperatures on Saturday reached 116 degrees Fahrenheit, and public cooling centers are in high demand. From member station KJZZ, Katherine Davis-Young reports.
KATHERINE DAVIS-YOUNG, BYLINE: At the First United Church of Christ in downtown Phoenix, cooling center staffers say lately there have been lines at the door before they even open in the mornings. Jonathan Nelson is one of the regulars.
JONATHAN NELSON: Coming in every day 'cause the heat's really, really bad. I've been in the hospital because of the heat. I've been in kidney failure 'cause the heat.
DAVIS-YOUNG: Nelson has been homeless in Phoenix for 15 years, but he says this has been his hardest summer yet. If not for this site, he says he might not survive.
NELSON: I'd probably be dead. Honestly, I'd probably be dead because of the heat. And I know it's killing a lot of people out there, too.
DAVIS-YOUNG: Maricopa County confirmed over 1,600 heat-related deaths in the past three years. Nearly half of those were among people experiencing homelessness, even though they make up less than 1% of the population. Arene Rushdan is with the Arizona Faith Network, which manages this heat relief site and a dozen others. She says most visitors are homeless.
ARENE RUSHDAN: Any health condition that they already have, heat exacerbates everything.
DAVIS-YOUNG: She says visitors are often physically exhausted from heat exposure and lack of sleep when they arrive.
RUSHDAN: They don't get rest really outside because it's unsafe.
DAVIS-YOUNG: Scientists say climate change is making temperatures of 115 or more much more likely, and it's driving up overnight lows even faster than daytime highs. During this heat wave, most nights have stayed in the 90s. One night in July never dipped below 97, Phoenix's hottest low ever. Dr. Nick Staab with Maricopa County Public Health says when people never get a chance to cool off, heat-related deaths tend to rise.
NICK STAAB: It's kind of that sustained heat with high overnight lows that we see as the biggest risk.
DAVIS-YOUNG: Forty heat-related deaths have been confirmed so far this year in Maricopa County, with 388 more under investigation, an increase of more than 30% compared to the same point last year. Back at the cooling center, that weighs on Rushdan's mind.
RUSHDAN: So that's one of the things that really worries me when I see these temperatures go way up, 117. It's - I'm thinking about, oh, my God, are we going to lose anyone?
DAVIS-YOUNG: Phoenix has expanded options for heat relief sites like this one in recent years, but staff and visitors here say the threat remains urgent. For NPR News, I'm Katherine Davis-Young in Phoenix. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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