Arizona’s Maricopa County has a new record for heat-associated deaths after the hottest summer

PHOENIX (AP) — Arizona’s Maricopa County set a new record Thursday for annual heat-associated deaths. There are 425 tallied so far this year. That’s the same number confirmed for all of 2022. Maricopa County is the hottest metropolitan area in the U.S. and home to Phoenix. County officials said the 425 deaths were confirmed as of Oct. 14. Another 199 deaths remain under investigation. There were 359 heat-associated deaths confirmed by the same time last year with another 91 deaths still being studied. Phoenix this summer experienced the hottest three months since record-keeping began in 1895, including the hottest July and the second-hottest August.