What Phoenix can teach the world about coping with heat death.

Ladd Keith, director of the Heat Resilience Initiative at the University of Arizona, told the BBC that other places could be appointed as the Phoenix Heat Officer – who oversees the initiative and manages communications between government agencies.

“It’s incredibly important to hold somebody accountable for the heat because if it’s nobody’s responsibility, nobody’s going to look at it,” he says.

With coordination and communication, facilities like cooling centers can be built in a fashion that’s not used to the scorching heat in other parts of the U.S., Marlon said.

But experts say it requires widespread recognition and understanding of how serious this heat is and how temporary it is.

Due to human-induced climate change, heat waves have become more frequent, more intense, and longer lasting. The world has warmed more than 1.1C since the start of the industrial age, and despite massive emissions cuts by world governments, temperatures will continue to rise.

In addition, it is important for cities and regions to realize that heat is not only a health issue, but also an infrastructure and economic issue, say experts.

Roads will continue to be congested and flights will continue to be delayed due to high temperatures, Marlon warned.

Most importantly, Keith says, people need to understand that this oppressive heat will continue.

“We need to move away from planning for the historical heat we’ve experienced and plan for the heat we’re going to get in the next five to 10 years,” he says.

“If people think it’s bad now, it’s going to get hotter, and hotter. The records are going to be broken, you can almost guarantee it year after year around the world.”