Las Vegas heat death toll cracks 400; coroner warns ‘numbers will go up’

Cooler days are ahead in Las Vegas. But the death toll associated with the region’s broiling heat has risen once again.

An update on Wednesday revealed that there have been 402 deaths where heat was a factor this year — a sharp increase from previous years, with 309 in 2023 and 169 in 2022, according to data from the Clark County coroner’s office.

This further solidifies 2024 as the deadliest heat year on record for Las Vegas, though true comparisons only date back to 2021, when the coroner’s office began to consider heat as a contributing cause of death more broadly.

It can take 90 days to determine the cause of nearly all deaths, so numbers are likely to climb.

“These won’t be the final numbers,” Clark County coroner Melanie Rouse said in a September interview. “Those numbers will go up as our cases start to close.”

Southern Nevada seems to have seen the worst of what has become a record summer, with Las Vegas breaking an all-time record of 120 degrees and having the most days with triple-digit temperatures meteorologists have seen. Scientists point to climate change, caused by burning fossil fuels in excess, as the root of abnormally high temperatures across the Southwest.

To solicit solutions to heat such as opening cooling centers and increasing tree canopy, the Desert Research Institute’s Southern Nevada Heat Resilience Lab brings together government and nonprofit partners after extreme bouts of heat to discuss how to move forward.

Much of the short-term response to heat in Southern Nevada has come in the form of public outreach and cooling centers such as libraries and community centers, though some have expressed skepticism about whether they are well used.

What Clark County knows so far

The coroner’s office only releases information about each victim once their families have been notified. Of the 402 people who have died, 362 were identified.

Aligned with official guidance about which groups are more susceptible to heat, those who die are typically older, with a median age of 59 in the latest data.

Alcohol and drugs — particularly methamphetamine and fentanyl — decrease the body’s ability to regulate its temperatures on hot days. Pre-existing conditions, such as heart disease, obesity and diabetes have a similar effect.

Experts say heat deaths are generally undercounted across the country, especially in metro areas where heat isn’t seen as a contributing factor to the primary cause of death.

Contact Alan Halaly at ahalaly@reviewjournal.com. Follow @AlanHalaly on X.