LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — While 106 degrees feels a lot better than our record of 120, it's still hot and the triple-digit temperatures are taking a serious toll.
We've learned that so far this year, Clark County has reported 63 people have lost their lives due to extreme temperatures here in the valley. Most of those victims are over 50 years old.
We're told investigations into these deaths can take up to 90 days. The final count could be even higher when you factor in those extreme temperatures we saw in June and July.
I spoke with Dr. Kabir Vohra from Intermountain Health. He says he's seeing three to five patients a day that are suffering from heat exhaustion, heat stroke, and dehydraton.
"These are extreme conditions that we're living in here in Las Vegas, for a certain time of the year. Our bodies aren't used to this type of thing," Vohra said. "This is going to cause more instances of heat-related injury, heat-related symptoms showing up not only in the clinic, emergency department, but also specialty offices, you know, like heart failure clinics, things like that because your lungs, heart, brain are all affected by an increase of heat.
So here's what Vhora says you need to do to protect yourself from heat-related illnesses.
Our weather team at Channel 13 is confident that we're on track to break the record for the hottest July ever in Las Vegas.
You might remember that on July 7, we hit 120 degrees, a new all-time high record.
That factors into this statistic: 28 out of 29 days clocked in as above normal this month. So far, the combination of our afternoon highs and morning lows creates an average temperature of 100.3 degrees. That easily beats the record warmth of July 2023, when the average temperature was 97.3 degrees.
In the bigger picture, this heat is part of a global trend seeing warming temperatures driven primarily by greenhouse gases.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, this shift is creating consequences like longer and more frequent heat waves, worsening droughts, and extreme rainfall.
Top climate experts say we'll continue to see these weather impacts worsen over time unless emissions are curbed.
