Record-setting heat in Texas has sent hundreds of people to emergency rooms in recent weeks, according to state health officials.
Temperature records fell across Texas during the last two weeks, putting June 2023 on pace to be the hottest June ever in some parts of the state. From the border city of Del Rio to the capital city, Austin, temperatures hit triple digits for days straight.
Emergency medical providers are responding to heat-related illnesses as extreme temperatures become more frequent and prolonged. On June 20, at least 350 people visited emergency departments across Texas because of heat illnesses, according to state health officials. That was the highest number of ER visits for heat-related illnesses on any single day in 2022 or 2023 so far. Not all hospitals and clinics are included in the state data, so the total is likely an undercount.
Emergency Medical Services (EMS) in Texas cities also reported high numbers of calls for heat-related illnesses this month. Houston EMS fielded 416 calls related to heat illnesses in the first 23 days of June. Even Texans accustomed to hot weather have been taken aback by the dangerous conditions.
“We are on pace to beat our numbers from last June,” said Austin-Travis County EMS paramedic and spokesperson Christa Stedman. “And that was the hottest June on record.”
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The heat wave has posed a health risk to millions of Texans, especially those who work outside or are homeless. While final autopsies are still pending, several deaths have already been linked to the extreme heat. A utility lineman died June 19 in East Texas after he had been treated for a heat-related illness. A Dallas postal worker died June 20. The next day, a 17-year-old died after collapsing at a state park outside Amarillo. A 14-year-old male hiker died June 23 in Big Bend National Park, where temperatures topped 119 degrees, and his stepfather died when he crashed his vehicle seeking help.
Emergency responders have also found several deceased individuals in the desert along the U.S./Mexico border in recent days. Since June 22, five bodies have been recovered in Sunland Park, New Mexico, just over the border from Texas and a common crossing point for migrants in the El Paso/Juárez area. The causes of death and individuals’ identities have not been disclosed.
Climate change made the extreme heat wave more likely to occur, according to the Climate Shift Index, a tool developed by the science non-profit Climate Central to estimate how much more likely a specific weather event is because of climate change.
Sure is a good thing the Lege passed a law that forbids cities from mandating water breaks for outdoor workers in hot environments. Texas cities are often on national top-ten lists for various things, but this is one we could have done without. We’re breaking electricity usage records, but thankfully solar power is saving the day and keeping the grid from collapsing.
That’s it, I don’t have a point to make. Try not to melt out there, y’all.