LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Heat-related deaths among adults under 40 are overwhelmingly tied to drug use, according to new data from the Clark County coroner.
The summer of 2024 has already shattered various temperature records and caused heat-related deaths to surge. Among 224 recorded heat-related deaths so far, many are tied to use of street drugs.
Among heat-related deaths under 40 (for those who have been positively identified and next-of-kin notified), drugs are most often present in their system. In 2024, two people 25-years-old and younger died of the heat with drugs in their system; there were no deaths in that age group in 2023.
Rouse said, while some of the under-40 individuals were unhoused, others died in their own homes.
“We are seeing more and more fentanyl deaths on the rise. We are also seeing novel substances on the increase. And so, I think all of those factors play a role in it: when certain drugs are within a person’s body, it limits their ability to have thermoregulation, so it makes them more susceptible to come succumbing to the physiological responses to the heat,” said Clark County Coroner Melanie Rouse.
“We have noticed that there has been a significant increase about 77% (more deaths) in individuals that are ages 30 to 34 years of age. We know that our drugs are essentially stronger,” Rouse said.
Rouse said more education on overdose prevention and resource awareness is crucial; the same goes for heat-related education, from hydration stations to the impact of heat on your body– especially if you ingest substances like fentanyl.
“I think it’s also a matter of increasing awareness to individuals regarding how just how deadly fentanyl can be,” Rouse said. “What we are now seeing is a shift in individuals that are actually going out and seeking it,” she said.
It takes up to three months for a cause of death to be determined; Clark County officials note that not all the heat-related deaths for the extreme heat days of June, July and August have been recorded.
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