Extreme heat has killed 3 people already this year in Southern Nevada

Alan Halaly, Las Vegas Review-Journal on Jun 11, 2025

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Extreme heat is already killing people this year as Southern Nevada braves its first string of days in triple-digit temperatures.

Heat has been a factor in three deaths so far, according to a Wednesday news release from the Clark County coroner’s office. Helping prevent heat-related death has been a priority of local governments and scientists, especially as climate change contributes to prolonged and more extreme heat waves.

The two first heat-related deaths of 2025 occurred on May 9, when the high reached 95 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. The coroner reported that an 86-year-old died of an irregular heartbeat and a 47-year-old succumbed to meth use, while environmental heat stress is listed as a contributing cause of death for both cases.

According to the coroner, the other victim died at 47, primarily of environmental heat stress, with PCP drug use and heart disease as contributing factors. Weather data shows the high was 99 degrees on May 11.

New policies use wider umbrella

Melanie Rouse, the Clark County coroner, has told the Las Vegas Review-Journal that her office only recently updated protocols for identifying cases where heat could have played a factor, modeling it after her former employer in Maricopa County, Arizona, where Phoenix is.

That led to a count of 527 heat-related deaths last year — a record number that mirrored a record summer when Las Vegas broke its all-time heat record, hitting 120 degrees. Still, experts maintain that heat-related deaths are undercounted throughout the country.

Rouse has noted that spikes in opioid and other drug use have a direct tie to heat-related deaths. Drugs greatly reduce the body’s ability to self-regulate its temperature, experts have previously told the Review-Journal.

When the National Weather Service issues an extreme heat warning, Clark County opens cooling centers throughout the valley and outside of it, where anyone can go in a pinch if experiencing heat stress. Local leaders have floated keeping them open 24 hours a day, but they remain open during specific times that vary by location.

The most up-to-date information about Clark County’s cooling centers can be found at clarkcountynv.gov.

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