THE WASHINGTON POST – Over 100 migrants have died from heat this year along the United States (US)-Mexico border as the Southwest continues to swelter through record-breaking heat.
There were 13 deaths and 226 rescues for dehydration and other heat-related causes last week alone, US Border Patrol chief Jason Owens said on Twitter.
“Do not endanger your lives by embarking on the hazardous journey to the US,” US Customs and Border Protection said in a tweet, noting that the rising temperatures along the southwest border “make the dangerous trek to cross into the US unlawfully even more treacherous”.
Last week’s deaths follow another 103 deaths and 5,091 rescues through late June.
The heat wave threatening Texas and the country’s Southwest is among several worldwide that resulted in the hottest June ever charted globally and Earth’s hottest day on record on July 4.
San Angelo and Del Rio each recorded their highest temperatures on record last month, and the mercury was above 100 degrees Fahrenheit for multiple days statewide. To the south in Mexico, Monclova and Chihuahua also broke heat records. Both Texas and Mexico were struggling to keep electricity grids up and running.
Former professor of environmental health at Australian National University who is currently a research consultant in New Zealand Tord Kjellstrom said the heat would be particularly dangerous to migrants making the crossing, who would likely be unable to cool themselves down as they walked long distances without ready access to water.
“The amount of sweat that you have to evaporate to protect yourself from very hot temperatures – over 104 degrees fahrenheit, for instance – it’s just impossible to protect yourself in these conditions,” he said.
At 102 degrees, “you can get serious illness,” he said, and at 104 or higher, “many people will actually die from the heat.”
“Climate change is contributing to the increasing number of days with extremely hot weather, so it’s an extra risk for them,” he said.
A 2021 paper published in Science found dehydration and heat stress in migrants crossing into the US from Mexico was likely to worsen about 34 per cent over the next 30 years, resulting in increased deaths.
There were about 219 migrant deaths due to heat at the US’ southern border in the 2021 fiscal year, which the CBP measures from October 2020 to September 2021, up from about 100 deaths in each of the previous three years, CBP data shows. Last year’s figures were not included.
Last June, 53 migrants died in an abandoned truck in Texas without cooling or water, the deadliest smuggling incident of its kind on US soil.
