Las Vegas heat death toll cracks 400

Cooler days are ahead in Las Vegas. But the death toll associated with the region's broiling heat has risen once again.

An update on Wednesday revealed that there have been 402 deaths where heat was a factor this year — a sharp increase from previous years, with 309 in 2023 and 169 in 2022, according to data from the Clark County coroner's office.

This further solidifies 2024 as the deadliest heat year on record for Las Vegas , though true comparisons only date back to 2021, when the coroner's office began to consider heat as a contributing cause of death more broadly.

It can take 90 days to determine the cause of nearly all deaths, so numbers are likely to climb.

Southern Nevada seems to have seen the worst of what has become a record summer, with Las Vegas breaking an all-time record of 120 degrees and having the most days with triple-digit temperatures meterologists have seen. Scientists point to climate change, caused by burning fossil fuels in excess, as the root of abnormally high temperatures across the Southwest.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.