NEW MEXICO (KRQE) – As temperatures soar across New Mexico, doctors are seeing more heat-related hospitalizations and deaths. Data from the New Mexico Department of Health shows heat-related deaths, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits nearly doubled from 2019 to 2023. “Just the other day, we saw someone who had been in an accident, I can’t remember if it was a scooter or a bicycle, but had like deep burns on their skin from where they were on the pavement because they couldn’t get up an move because they also had a broken limb…That has become a pretty regular thing now,” said Dr. Femling.
“The things I know for sure, that I have seen directly, is that the world has gotten warmer and people are suffering from it,” said Dr. Jon Femling, Medical Director, University of New Mexico Hospital Emergency Department.
Section of Mountain Road in Albuquerque closed for repaving
He said the elderly and children are most at risk. He said certain medications can reduce sweating in older adults, and children are more easily distracted and struggle to regulate body temperature…