July may have been the hottest month in human memory. The scorching summer in the northern hemisphere has set records for heat, in a trend that scientists say is mainly a result of human-caused climate change. Hotter temperatures are not going away, and this year seems likely to overtake 2016 as the hottest year on record. High temperatures tend not to directly cause migration, but extreme heat can profoundly impact migrants already en route or at arrival. It can be punishing—and even fatal—for those who work outside, for instance, farmworkers and construction workers, many of whom are immigrants. At even greater risk are forcibly displaced migrants living in camps, making dangerous journeys on foot, or who are otherwise exposed to the elements and lack sufficient ways of cooling off. Already this year, more than 100 migrants have died from heat-related causes along the U.S.-Mexico border. Sweltering temperatures could prompt advocates to resurrect the once-sprawling migrant camp in the Mexican border town of Matamoros, to concentrate services for asylum seekers. Elsewhere, migrants living in tents in parts of sun-drenched Tunisia have reportedly resorted to paying fees to sit in the shade under olive trees. In Syria, more than 800 camps for displaced people lack necessary amounts of water, while others have reduced water allocations due to the heat and lack of resources. The heat also causes problems for managing migrants in detention. U.S. Border Patrol officials have kept dozens of detained migrants in outdoor facilities in southern Arizona, where temperatures have exceeded for 111° Fahrenheit (44° Celsius) for multiple consecutive days, in a practice the agency says is necessary due to increased encounters along a remote stretch of desert. In previous years, state authorities ran outdoor “tent city” jails which imprisoned individuals suspected of immigration violations. I previously spoke about the impacts of extreme heat with physician and researcher Tord Kjellstrom for an episode of MPI’s “Changing Climate, Changing Migration” podcast. Studies have anticipated that the situation will grow worse for everyone, migrants included, as average temperatures increase. Almost surely, we are only beginning to understand how a hotter world will disrupt our societies, the age-old phenomenon of migration included. Best regards, Julian Hattem
Editor, Migration Information Source
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