Contact burn injuries rise as sweltering summer temperatures create hotter pavements, playgrounds

With heat warnings popping up across the United States, rising temperatures are turning pavements and playgrounds into burn zones.

The burn center at Valleywise Health in Phoenix, Arizona, treated a record number of contact burn patients last year, including 15 deaths.

"It is definitely related to temperatures," said Dr. Kevin Foster, the medical director of the burn center. "No question about that."

When Foster and his team analyzed 16 years of data, they found a connection between rising summer temperatures , driven by climate change , and an increase in burns.

In 2008, when the average summer temperature in Arizona was close to 107 degrees, there were nine contact burn cases, according to Valleywise Health. By 2023, with the average temperature at 113 degrees, burn cases jum