Heat wave and blackout would hospitalize half of Phoenix residents

Half of Phoenix residents would need emergency medical attention if a multiday blackout were to coincide with a heat wave, a new study revealed. Why it matters: Heat waves are deadly even when people have access to air conditioning. Combine extreme temperatures with a blackout and the heat-related death rate would spike by 700%, according to the report published this month in Environmental Science & Technology. State of play: U.S. electrical grid failures increased 150% between 2016 and 2021, and most often occurred during the summer, when elevated electricity demand...