MEXICO CITY, March 11 (NNN-PRENSA LATINA) — Mexico will be facing an intense heat wave reaching up to 45 degrees Celsius in six states, and very likely to have over 32 degrees Celsius across the rest of the territory, the National Water Commission (CONAGUA) warned on Sunday.
CONAGUA, which is usually in charge of those forecasts, informed that those high temperatures are registered in winter, which ends on March 20, this means that the heat has been anticipated by over 10 days due to climate change.
That situation, added to the high ozone pollution in the Valley of Mexico, makes the atmosphere almost unbreathable, but even so, people went out on Sunday as usual to ride bicycles on the spacious and busy Paseo de Reforma Avenue, from the Virgin of Guadalupe to Campo Marte.
Although the heat wave affects the states of Guerrero, Campeche, Yucatan, Michoacan, Veracruz and Morelos, where temperatures vary from 30 to 41 degrees Celsius, Sonora, at the other edge of the country, reaches 45 degrees Celsius. In Ciudad Altamirano, Guerrero, a maximum temperature of 41 degrees Celsius was recorded this morning, and may rise during the course of the day. Likewise, in Tepalcatepec, Michoacan; Calkini and Hopelchen, Campeche, and the cities of Merida, Ticul and Peto, in Yucatan, the maximum temperature is 39 degrees. In Morelos, it ranged from 30 to 40 degrees.
Meanwhile, in Veracruz, according to the Civil Protection Secretariat of Coatzacoalcos, the south of the state reached 36.8 degrees Celsius. The municipalities of San Evangelista and Isla reported 37 and 39 degrees respectively.
In addition, the weather in the 11 municipalities of Quintana Roo remained at 33 to 35 degrees in the morning, except in the Mayan zone, Jose Maria Morelos, and Felipe Carrillo Puerto, where the thermal sensation was of 39 degrees Celsius.
So far this year, 20.5% of the country has reported a decrease in rainfall, while dams have a deficit of 26%. In addition, CONAGUA’s Drought Monitor indicated that drought conditions affect over 60% of the country.
Likewise, the National Forestry Commission reported, as of 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, 26 active wildfires with a preliminary affected area of 2,503 hectares. The flames have spread to 12 states and damaged five protected natural areas, which aggravates environmental pollution. — NNN-PRENSA LATINA
