Extreme heat is killing more people crossing the border – By Danielle Prokop (Albuquerque Journal) / July 5, 2023
New Mexico sat on the bleeding edge of the heat dome that caused soaring temperatures in Mexico and Texas last week, and pushed temperatures into the triple-digits for much of the southern portion of the state.
Heat is the deadliest natural disaster event — killing an average 700 people in the United States each year — more than deaths from tornadoes, hurricanes and flooding. However federal agencies tracking the data say that’s certainly an undercount.
In one aspect though, this summer is shaping up to be the deadliest on record for people trying to cross the desert in between Sunland Park and Santa Teresa, New Mexico.
In 2022, 16 people crossing the border died in Sunland Park, the most deaths recorded for that area by the U.S. Customs and Border Patrol. That number combined deaths from falls from the border fence — which ranges from 18 to 30 feet tall — and heat exposure
