Severe burns cases on rise in US south-west as extreme heatwave takes toll

Doctors report busy burns units with some patients having passed out and collapsed on superheated outdoor surfaces

Doctors in the US south-west have reported a rise in first-, second-, and third-degree contact burn cases amid extreme heat conditions.

The reports of severe burn incidents, some fatal, came from hospitals in Arizona and Nevada, where temperatures have recently reached triple digits and deaths from heat-related conditions have surged.