Many people in Mexico without power as deadly heat leads to strain on grid

Climate change has made high temperatures more common in the country, which has already surpassed peak energy demand of 2022

• This piece is republished from Inside Climate News.

When Raquel Rubio's 13-month baby developed a 102F fever last week, she rushed to the doctor. Her son, Liam, had been in Rubio's apartment without air conditioning for several hours; Nuevo Leon, the Mexican state where she lives, had reached 109F that day.

The doctor confirmed Rubio's suspicions that the heat was driving her son's temperature, and instructed her to bathe Liam and keep him hydrated. But Rubio couldn't go back home; she had been dealing with power shortages for the past two weeks and didn't want to take her son back into the blistering heat.