Authorities must enact urgent measures to ensure that not a single life more should be lost to extreme heat, climate group 350.org Caribbean said amid heatwaves and drought currently gripping the country.
Metro Puerto Rico recently reported on a study published in The Journal of Climate Change and Health, which found a consistent association between extreme heat events and an increase in deaths from cardiovascular, cerebrovascular, and respiratory diseases. The study shows that up to 47% more deaths happened in Puerto Rico on extreme heat days from 2015 to 2020.
Amira Odeh Quiñones, 350.org Caribbean Organizer said:
“For decades, governments have been warned about the deadly impacts of the climate crisis, yet the government of Puerto Rico has chosen to ignore every single warning sign. Now, innocent people are paying the consequences with their lives. As hot summers break record after record, our leaders continue to import expensive fossil fuels that are making basic cooling unaffordable for families. The result is catastrophic: human lives are being lost, and emergency rooms are overflowing due to extreme heat. This is an unacceptable injustice. Puerto Rico has barely contributed to climate change, yet our people are paying for it with their lives.”
350.org Caribbean calls on the government of Puerto Rico to immediately protect citizens from extreme heat.
“We urgently need early warning systems, access to water and healthcare, and reforestation. We need clean and affordable energy to power cooling in homes and community centers. We cannot continue to suffer from government neglect. Lives are on the line – action cannot wait for another deadly heatwave or drought,” Quiñones added.
Media Contact:
Amira Odeh Quiñones, 350.org Caribbean, [email protected]
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