26 In 2023, 39 In 2024: Rising Heat Deaths In El Paso Bring Little In The Way Of Public Health Response

EL PASO—Retired Catholic priest Arturo Bañuelas leaned into the microphone as he urged county commissioners to do something about the growing crisis of migrants dying in the desert just miles from the courthouse where he stood. “These deaths are occurring right here,” Bañuelas said, wearing his white clerical collar under a black shirt and jacket during a January commission meeting. “Close to our homes, churches and community. We cannot turn away.”

El Paso was the most deadly sector of the U.S.-Mexico border in 2024. And it’s not just migrants who are succumbing to extreme heat. Temperatures are rising faster in El Paso than in almost any other U.S. city. And a record 39 deaths were attributed directly or indirectly to heat in El Paso County during 2024. Among the victims were a 75-year-old aficionado of Lowrider cars found in his trailer, a 39-year-old Army veteran out on a hike and a 27-year-old Guatemalan man who perished after crossing the border.

The previous record was set in 2023, when the heat directly or indirectly killed 26 people, according to state data. These were the two hottest years on record in El Paso. Heat-related illnesses also increased significantly. Despite these alarming totals, neither the city nor the county of El Paso shares with the public weekly data on heat-related illnesses that is available from the state. El Paso’s health information exchange denied a request from Inside Climate News for the data it collects.

Neither the city nor county has released the results of any investigations into the rapid increase in heat deaths. And, unlike other heat-afflicted cities like Phoenix and counties like Miami-Dade, El Paso has no staff positions dedicated to heat mitigation. El Paso relies instead on an unfunded high-heat task force made up of volunteers and government employees—all while the Trump administration has cut $3.5 million in public health grants to the city this year.

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https://insideclimatenews.org/news/17082025/el-paso-extreme-heat-illness-death/