Presidential Election, 5 November 2024

Heatwave, 7 June 2024  

In June 2024 Las Vegas, Nevada experienced record-high temperatures due to a heatwave spanning across the Southwest United States (Sonner 2024). Meteorologists predicted temperatures exceeding 38 degrees Celsius to occur significantly earlier than usual in the region; in Phoenix, Arizona, temperatures reached 46 degrees in early June. The National Weather Service released a heat warning for over 20 million residents in the Phoenix area (Sonner 2024) which saw six heat-related deaths by 21 June (Le Monde/AP 2024). In California’s Death Vally, temperatures were expected to reach 49 degrees (Le Monde/AP 2024) – Death Vally has an average temperature of 44 degrees Celsius during June and 47 degrees in July (Lam 2023).  

The heatwave is believed to be a result of human-induced climate change driven by planet-warming emissions (Brosnan 2024). According to World Weather Attribution, the hottest days in June in the Southwest region were 1.4 degrees warmer than usual due to climate change (Brosnan 2024; WWA 2024).  

Impact on the electoral process 

On 7 June 2024 in Pheonix, Arizona, a rally for Donald Trump’s presidential campaign saw 17 participants hospitalized due to extreme heat. By 17.00, when Trump took the stage, temperatures in Pheonix had reached 43 degrees Celsius (111 degreed Fahrenheit). Before the speech, supporters queued to go through security (Vardy et al. 2024) And crowding was such that some were unable to enter the building, exposing them to sun and heat stroke risk. During the hours leading up to the rally, several attendees were treated for heat-related complications. In total, 97 people used cooling tents outside the event, 24 people received medical care, six were rushed to hospital (Vardy et al. 2024) and a further 11 people were hospitalized due to heat exhaustion (Gold 2024; Vardy et al. 2024).  

Following the rally in Pheonix, the Trump campaign traveled to Las Vegas, Nevada where temperatures reached over 39 degrees Celsius (103 Fahrenheit) (Gold 2024; Bowden 2024). During the Las Vegas rally on 9 June, six people were hospitalized due to heat-related illness (Crowley and Robinson, 2024). Between the two events, the campaign adopted measures to mitigate heat related issues (Vardy et al. 2024). At Las Vegas, twice as many emergency medical staff were on site than at Pheonix. Additionally, the campaign provided over 38,000 bottles of water and a cooling tent for supporters.