Heat wave suffocates millions of Mexicans

As Roberto struggles to work under the relentless sun, Wendy struggles to keep her food from rotting. The heat wave that hits Mexico leaves eight dead and disrupts the lives of millions of people.

Roberto de Jesús, 50, offers his services as a bricklayer on the left flank of the Metropolitan Cathedral, in the heart of the historic center of Mexico City, which this week reached record temperatures of 35 degrees Celsius.

And now it is dealing with the third heat wave that has hit the country so far this year and that could last two more weeks.

It is noon and the sun warms the asphalt and the rock of the buildings of the crowded capital. The crowds, plus the emissions from area cars and businesses, create a stifling environment.

The heat “It really does sink in, it feels very heavy. Waiting for the chamba (work) makes me sleepy”, De Jesus says. “For the same reason, sometimes we are very dehydrated.”

The man spends eight to nine hours a day on his feet waiting for clients, although the hardest part is when he has to work outside at the mercy of the heat. “We are very stifled,” he says.

But not only working becomes tortuous. Eating at street stalls, a beloved and popular habit among Mexicans, now carries a high risk as the intense heat quickly breaks down food.

De Jesús recently verified it. “I got sick to my stomach, he says. “They were some tacos that I ate on the street (…) That was what broke me down,” says the mason, who spent three days convalescing.

“Awful heat”

But the street taco makers are not the villains, because in addition to the high temperatures they must work between hot plates and stoves.

“The heat is horrible”, says Javier Ramos, 30, who is in charge of making tacos at a stand in Alameda Central.

“You have to stay hydrated all day”he points out, referring to the 15-hour work day in which he and his colleagues set up the stall, cook and serve the public.

Part of the protocol is to have fresh meat and prepared ingredients “up to date”, In addition to storing supplies in coolers “and do not combine meat with vegetables”, Ramos explains.

Also located around the cathedral, Natividad Flores, a 40-year-old artisan clothing vendor, believes that “We are seeing the consequences of climate change.”

Protected with gloves, wide-brimmed hat, sunscreen “and a lot of water “, Flores takes the opportunity to sell clothes “very fresh” for “To withstand the heat”.

“It gives us dizziness, a little bit of sunstroke too“, says.

more than 40ºC

Seven people died from heat stroke and one from dehydration between April 14 and June 12, according to the government. Three died in Veracruz (east), two in Quintana Roo (southeast), two in Sonora (north) and one in Oaxaca (south).

In Monterrey, a prosperous city in the northeast, the climate imposes harsh conditions, with temperatures that exceed 40ºC.

The city, which suffered from a historic drought last year, is experiencing a worrying drop in household water pressure, while high demand for electricity from air conditioning use has led to power outages.

Wendy Tijerina, a resident of the municipality of Apodaca, assures that the heat hits more there because it is an industrial area. “The thermal sensation is stronger, there is a lack of water, the children cannot be bathed and not even [usar] a fan (fan) because they cut off the power”, account to AFP.

He comments that the refrigerator is no longer enough to keep food and that they try to drink a lot of water to protect themselves.

“We are looking to have a cooler to also put medicines that require refrigeration and foods that are somewhat delicate”add.

The state government of Nuevo León, where Monterrey is located, also ordered that children take blended classes, attending schools for only two hours a day to avoid exposing themselves to the severe weather.

Source: AFP