Hermosillo, Mexico, captures heat-related illnesses at medical facilities using new database

Working with Cofepris, the Ministry of Health, and the CEC, Sonora’s regional health authority (Comisión Estatal de Protección contra Riesgos Sanitarios del Estado de Sonora—Coesprisson) established several objectives with the goal of creating a real-time SyS system for the city of Hermosillo in a 2016 pilot SyS project that would enable timely identification of health impacts due to extreme temperature and evidence-based policy development to reduce mortality and morbidity rates.

The threat of climate change in the state of Sonora raises serious concerns regarding the protection of human health, as daily maximum temperatures over 44°C are often recorded and conditions are expected to worsen. Sonora State has a desert climate, characterized by low precipitation, high sun exposure, and extreme heat. Approximately 60 percent of all heat mortality observed in Mexico for 2015 occurred in that state. 

One of the main challenges faced by Coesprisson in their pilot project was the issue of alert fatigue. The community is used to daily life in a consistently hot environment, and lives with the daily risk of exposure to extreme temperatures. Education strategies and the implementation of policies for different sectors (e.g., workplaces, schools, etc.) that are sensitive to the adaptive capacities of each specific sector need to be developed in coordination with the at-risk populations.