Here's why an Arizona medical examiner is working to track heat-related deaths

Dr. Kristin Beals, medical examiner for Pima County, Arizona, implemented a new protocol to document deaths related to heat exposure. The protocol requires medical examiners in the county to consistently record environmental heat as a contributing factor when applicable to death investigations. Beals stated that no standardized national system exists for tracking heat-related mortality across the United States. The new documentation method aims to create a local record of deaths influenced by high temperatures.

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