According to the health ministry, at least 100 individuals died in Mexico over the past two weeks as a result of heat-related causes as countrywide temperatures have risen to nearly 50 degrees Celsius (122 Fahrenheit).
This month’s three-week long heat wave caused a record-breaking load on the electrical grid, necessitated the suspension of schools in some locations, and left many Mexicans in the heat.
The ministry reported in a study on severe temperatures that more than two-thirds of the deaths occurred the week of June 18–24, with the remaining deaths occurring the week before. Just one heat-related death was reported over the same period previous year.
With a few cases of dehydration, heat stroke was blamed for almost all of the deaths. In the northern state of Nuevo Leon, which borders Texas, almost 64% of the deaths took place. Nearby Tamaulipas and Veracruz on the Gulf coast housed the majority of the remaining population.
Temperatures have dropped recently as a result of the much-needed precipitation that the rainy season has brought.
However, temperatures are still high in some northern cities. The hamlet of Aconchi in the state of Sonora recorded a high temperature of 49 degrees Celsius (120 degrees Fahrenheit) on Wednesday.
