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Under the unyielding Laredo sun, Miguel Quiñones battles more than just his daily duties at HEB, a large regional grocery chain. He endures hours of relentless heat that most people want to escape within minutes.
For shoppers, the searing walk from the supermarket’s sliding doors to their car is a brief discomfort. For Miguel, it's a grueling five-to six-hour shift of collecting scattered carts across a large parking lot paved with dark asphalt, with only a short break in the air conditioning.
“You feel it coming from both above and below, reflecting off the ground and the vehicles," he explains. This is a clear example of the Urban Heat Island (UHI) effect, where materials like asphalt and concrete absorb and retain heat, raising surface temperatures by as much as 7°F higher than in surrounding areas (EPA, 2024).
Concrete parking lots in urban communities contribute significantly to the problem. Dark-colored asphalt absorbs heat throughout the day and releases it slowly, intensifying already sweltering conditions. As the heat radiates off the ground, Miguel feels like he’s trapped between two sources of intense heat.
Solutions, like the installation of lighter-colored reflective coating on pavements, or the use of porous materials could help reduce the urban heat island effect and provide relief to outside workers.
While the heat makes his collecting and pushing a train of metal grocery carts physically exhausting, Miguel notes it takes a mental toll as well. "Sometimes I forget things, like if I just finished picking up the carts or if I need to do it again," he admits, describing a disorienting fatigue that comes from prolonged exposure.
The exhaustion even affects his social life, as he often feels too drained to interact with friends after work. “Being in the heat definitely shortens your temper," he remarks, illustrating the frustration and irritability that accompany enduring such extreme conditions.
Miguel's situation is a stark reminder of the challenges faced by outdoor workers, who often lack adequate protection from rising temperatures. Cities must shift traditional urban planning models to require lighter heat-reflecting surfaces and greater shade from native tree canopy to address intensifying urban heat island and help lower ground temperatures, benefiting not just those who work under the sun but the entire community (Kumar et al., 2024; Qingjuan et al., 2022).
As his workshift ends, Miguel still feels the lingering effects of the heat. “You have to prepare for the worst," he says, a reality for many in Laredo who contend with extreme temperatures daily. His experience underscores the urgent need for infrastructure and urban planning changes in Laredo.
