Mexico heat wave claims 112 lives over 3 months

Heat wave: News agency ANI reports that at least 112 people have died in Mexico since March due to extreme temperatures.

According to the health secretariat, Nuevo Leon has been the worst-hit region in Mexico, reporting 64 deaths. Health officials say dozens of deaths have also occurred in Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Oaxaca, Quintana Roo, Sonora, and Campeche.

CNN says so far 1,559 people have received medical aid for complications arising out of extreme temperatures. In the past 10 tens days, several areas in Mexico have seen temperatures rise past 45 degrees.

Tamaulipas governor AmericoVillareal Anaya has ordered the formation of a working group to develop a response plan for battling the heat wave. The province’s Secretary of Health tweeted on Tuesday advising people to stay indoors and in cooler areas. He also advised people to avoid going out in the sun.

NBC Boston says these deaths are triple the number in 2022. It also said that the Mexican president had previously said that the death numbers were being overblown by alarmist journalists.

“There is an alarmist, yellow-journalism trend,” said President Lopez Obrador quoting those figures.

Skipped reporting in June

NBC also says that the country’s health ministry normally issues a bulletin each week. However, the ministry “skipped a week” in June-at the height of the heat wave- for unknown reasons.

Between June 18 and 24, the deaths reached an all-time-high of 64, which is an unprecedented number.

“The week of June 11-17 was also unusually bad, with 31 deaths across the country,” says NBC.

These deaths, besides being due to high temperatures, are also because of a delay in seasonal rains in mid-June.

A political issue?

It isn’t clear why the president criticized the media reports on deaths. It is noteworthy that some deaths happened because of no supply of electricity to the victims’ homes. The Mexican president supports the state-owned power supplier.

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