Featured Image Credit: Phoenix Police Department/Now At 5
Topics: US News, Weather, Climate Change
Katherine Sidnell
Topics: US News, Weather, Climate Change
A woman tragically died while visiting a city that has become ‘uninhabitable without aircon’.
Sadly, Jessica Christine Lindstrom never returned from her walk in Phoenix, Arizona, with authorities discovering her body after an extensive five-hour search.
Despite being a registered nurse and familiar with the area, police believe was overcome by heat during her hike.
Lindstrom had been visiting loved ones at the time of her death on Friday night (August 4). She was last seen around 8:30 am close to the West Deem Hills Parkway, before heading out on her hike.
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Authorities declared the 34-year-old missing just a few hours later, launching drones and rescue teams to find the missing nurse.
Despite this, it took over five hours to find Lindstrom on the remote trail, with authorities suspecting she was overcome by the intense Arizona heat.
Though Maricopa County’s medical examiner has yet to confirm this, a spokesperson for the Phoenix Fire Department suggested that this was the most likely cause.
Captain Scott Douglas told AP: "Unfortunately, Ms Lindstrom was in town from Oregon, where it doesn't get this hot."
Lindstrom had previously lived in the suburb of Peoria, Phoenix, but had moved away in recent years.
In that time though, Phoenix has become the world’s first city to be uninhabitable without aircon – according to one meteorologist.
This year alone, Maricopa County, which includes Phoenix, has had 39 heat-related death this year with another 312 being investigated currently.
Last year, there were an estimated 425 heat-related deaths, with almost half of them happening in July.
Even more alarmingly, this July was the hottest on record according to the National Weather Service, with an average temperature of 102.7 Fahrenheit (39.28 Celsius).
The city also spent a sweltering 31 consecutive days over 110 F (43.33 C) - beating the previous record of 18 days, which was set back in 1974.
Speaking about the ground-breaking temperatures, Meteorologist Laura Tobin said: "Phoenix has broken a record, they have had 19 days where they have had consecutive temperatures above 43 celsius, 110 Fahrenheit.”
“They are one of the first cities in the world to become uninhabitable unless they have air conditioning. And many areas don’t.”
There continues to be an excessive heat warning in Maricopa County, with local authorities warning of potential illnesses like dehydration, heat stroke and exhaustion.
With climate change beginning to take effect though, we can expect these grim records to become increasingly common.