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Climate Crisis Made Extreme Heat Waves in U.S., Mexico and Central America 35 Times More Likely

HeadlineJun 21, 2024

A new study finds global heating from human activity made this year’s late-spring heat wave in the U.S., Mexico and Central America 35 times more likely to happen. Meanwhile, scorching summer heat is compounding the suffering of asylum seekers at the U.S. southern border. The Sunland Park Fire Department near El Paso, Texas, has recorded the deaths of at least 13 people in the desert so far this year. This is fire chief Ramiro Rios.

Ramiro Rios: “Recently we’ve been having a lot of temperatures that have gone over 100 degrees, and we are starting to see that we are getting a lot of migrants that are going into heatstroke. And so, now we’re having to deal with having to use what we call ice baths. So, it’s a rapid cooling technique that we’re using by putting them in a body bag and then filling them up with ice water and ice so that we can bring their temperature down.”

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