As Phoenix breaks early heat records in 2026, a strategic collective of cross-sector leaders launches a first-of-its-kind national convening to move capital and drive real solutions to the defining crisis of the American Southwest. Arizona will convene national and local leaders on extreme heat at the 122° Conference in downtown Phoenix, December 2–3, 2026.
As one of the hottest regions in the world, Arizona is emerging as a global leader in understanding and addressing extreme heat, a challenge with far-reaching impacts on public health, water security, food systems, energy use, conservation and community well-being.
Phoenix consistently ranks among the top 10 hottest cities globally, and communities across Arizona experience extreme heat not as a theoretical risk, but as a daily reality. That experience has positioned the state to offer critical insight as communities nationwide and around the world confront rising temperatures.
Yesterday, the Arizona Community Foundation (ACF), in partnership with the City of Phoenix, Arizona State University and Desert Botanical Garden, announced the 122° Conference, a two-day national convening taking place December 2–3, 2026, in downtown Phoenix. The conference is named for Phoenix’s all-time record temperature of 122°F, set on June 26, 1990, a moment that has come to symbolize both the urgency of extreme heat and the long arc of adaptation and innovation required to live with it.
This announcement comes as Arizona continues to face record-breaking temperatures. Heat is the deadliest weather-related hazard in the state and the nation, with impacts that extend beyond public health to affect economic productivity, infrastructure reliability and quality of life, particularly for communities with limited resources for adaptation. Beyond the loss of life, extreme heat takes a profound toll on people, communities and the economy, straining public health systems, reducing workforce productivity, driving up energy costs and falling hardest on those with the least ability to adapt.
- The 122° Conference is designed to connect critical knowledge-sharing and coordinated action.
- Alongside research, lived experience and policy insights, the conference centers a solutions-oriented framework that will culminate in a public announcement of pooled funding commitments from national and local funders.
- These commitments will help support a statewide response, generating impact in Arizona while creating shared learning for communities facing extreme heat across the globe.
For generations, Indigenous nations have provided leadership in understanding and adapting to extreme heat, shaping approaches that Arizona communities have continued to build upon. That lived experience is now complemented by nationally and internationally recognized research, public-sector leadership, and community-driven practice. Together, these efforts position Arizona as a place where lessons about extreme heat are being actively tested and refined.
This comprehensive, cross-sector approach is central to the Arizona Community Foundation’s environmental work. Whether a community member, grassroots or nonprofit organization, small business owner, corporate leader, elected official or civic leader, ACF approaches this work with the belief that every voice contributes equally to understanding challenges and identifying solutions, particularly at the intersections where environmental, economic and community needs meet.
That philosophy shapes both ACF’s broader environmental strategy and the design of the 122° Conference itself. By intentionally balancing power dynamics and creating space for lived experience alongside institutional expertise, the conference reflects ACF’s commitment to collaboration as a driver of meaningful impact.
The 122° Conference reflects this reality by creating space for participants to engage with extreme heat through multiple lenses. Rather than focusing on a single discipline or sector, the conference is designed to surface connections, recognizing that effective responses require alignment across sectors, policy, research, philanthropy and community implementation.
“Arizona is ground zero for extreme heat, and what we do here has implications far beyond our state. The 122° Conference is about bringing together the people, projects, and partnerships that are already advancing extreme heat solutions, and creating the conditions for those solutions to grow and be scaled from Arizona and beyond.”
— Anna María Chávez, President and CEO, Arizona Community Foundation
Arizona is ready to share what it has built and to work collaboratively to identify innovative solutions. Through its statewide environmental initiative, ACF has deployed philanthropic capital, built coordination infrastructure, and supported organizations working across extreme heat mitigation, food systems, and conservation in tribal nations, rural communities, and urban neighborhoods throughout Arizona. The state has established a collaborative infrastructure that supports cross-sector work and is advancing investment-ready projects addressing extreme heat, including efforts designed not only to benefit Arizona communities, but to generate models other regions can adapt to their own local contexts.
The conference is co-presented with Arizona State University often recognized as a leader in extreme heat research, and its Ten Across (10X) initiative, which supports communities across the Interstate 10 corridor, one of the regions most exposed to extreme heat in the United States. The City of Phoenix internationally recognized for its Office of Heat Response and Mitigation plays a central role in grounding the conference in operational experience.
“By necessity, innovation and resilience are ingrained in everything we do in Phoenix. As communities around the world grapple with extreme heat and other complex challenges, we’re proud to highlight proven solutions and eager to learn from the best ideas around our state and the world. In collaboration with ACF, ASU, dedicated residents, community organizations, and private sector partners, Phoenix is proud to host the 122° Conference and to deliver globally relevant, local solutions.”
— Mayor Kate Gallego, City of Phoenix
“Arizona’s extreme heat challenges position our state at the forefront of understanding one of the most urgent climate issues of our time. What we study, test, and innovate here is not only shaping solutions for our own communities, it is creating a framework for the nation. The 122° Conference is where that knowledge will be transformed into shared insight, coordinated action, and invested capital, accelerating Arizona’s leadership in advancing real, scalable solutions to extreme heat.”
— Wellington ‘Duke’ Reiter, FAIA, Senior Advisor to the President, Arizona State University | Founder and Executive Director, Ten Across
Desert Botanical Garden joins the 122° Conference as a field and programming partner, bringing its expertise in desert plant science, urban heat mitigation, and community-facing sustainability solutions to the convening. The Garden’s living collections and research programs serve as a direct demonstration of what is possible when nature-based solutions are applied at scale in one of the world’s most extreme heat environments.
“At Desert Botanical Garden, we believe the desert can help show the world how communities can thrive in a hotter, drier future. That is why we are deepening our focus on researching and scaling solutions to the desert’s greatest challenges, from extreme heat to water resilience to the long-term health of desert communities. The 122° Conference is exactly the kind of convening that can help turn that vision into action.”
— Chris Kline, President and CEO, Desert Botanical Garden
By convening leaders with different forms of expertise and experience, the 122° Conference underscores Arizona’s readiness to contribute meaningfully to one of the defining challenges of our time and to offer insights that extend far beyond its borders.
