3 Reasons Why Phoenix, Arizona Should Not Exist

I love to visit Phoenix. In the winter.

During the searing hot summers, however, even a short visit makes me question my sanity. For example, I love to stop at IKEA. It's right off the I-10, and it's just downright fun. Who couldn't use another HÄSTFYLLA or SNARKLIG?

Of course, I have to park 200 miles from the store entrance, and in the five minutes it takes me to walk from my icy car interior to the sun-reflecting sliding glass doors, my flip-flops melt on the asphalt, and I die of heatstroke.

In those five delirious, breath-stealing minutes in the City of the Relentless Blazing Sun (did I just make that their new tagline?), I seriously question my sanity.

Depending on who you ask, Phoenix is either a desert marvel or an ephemeral mirage built on borrowed time. Here are three reasons critics think the Valley of the Sun shouldn’t exist.

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Phoenix: A City That's Too Hot to Handle

First, Phoenix summers aren’t just warm—they’re downright oven-level hot. Seriously, look up the word convection, and I think you'll find the perfect descriptor for the unimaginable summer heat. Every summer day, it can get as hot as 110°F. Some days it gets even hotter. The city is the poster child for extreme heat.

Heat-related deaths in Maricopa County peaked at 395 in 2023, according to the county’s public health department. The city even rolled out a 2025 Heat Response Plan, including cooling centers and outreach programs, to keep residents safe.

I try to imagine pioneers rolling through the valley in the late 1880s in their wool socks and buttoned-up-to-the-chin Victorian garb, and I sweat profusely. What were they thinking?

An episode of King of the Hill even poked fun at it, saying, "This city should not exist. It's a monument to man's arrogance."

RELATED: The Impact of Migration from California to Arizona

Water, Water… Nowhere? Phoenix Needs More!

Second, Phoenix relies heavily on the Colorado River to supply water to the growing metropolis, as well as on groundwater reserves that are shrinking faster than a Maricopa puddle in July.

The Arizona Department of Water Resources warns that, despite conservation efforts, the city faces long-term scarcity, citing climate change and population growth as the culprits.

READ: Why Online Privacy Matters: How Arizona is Taking Lessons from California

Phoenix: Metropolitan Urban Sprawl City

Finally, the growth and urban sprawl. There's a lot of untapped desert around Phoenix, but it's shrinking more each year. The city is famous for its sprawl with miles of low-density neighborhoods stitched together by freeways.

As it grows, it lays down more asphalt for cars, creating an ever-widening heat island effect, which means that concrete and pavement crank up the temps. Then there are the dust storms and air quality issues, and you’ve got a recipe for a city that feels like it’s fighting the desert instead of living with it.

Phoenix: A Modern Mirage That Shouldn't Exist?

For now, Phoenix is thriving, but the water table is falling, and the city is sprawling, which could mean an uncertain future for those who live in our state's capital. Skeptics say Phoenix could become a modern mirage.