90 percent of the Yucatan Peninsula does not suffer from drought: Conagua

The commission is prepared to attend and mitigate the effects: Galván Torres

Mèrida, Yuc., (April 29, 2021).- Contrary to the drought conditions that currently affect a large part of the national territory, the National Water Commission (Conagua) reported that in the Yucatan peninsula an abnormally dry condition appears in this month of April that covers 10 percent of the territory, specifically towards the east of Yucatán and the north of Quintana Roo. 

At a press conference, the general director of the Yucatan Peninsula Basin Agency of Conagua, Andrés Eduardo Galván Torres, explained that this commission is prepared for the drought since it carries out continuous monitoring of this phenomenon through the Monitor of Drought and there is also, through the Basin Council of the Yucatan Peninsula, a Program of Preventive Measures and Drought Mitigation, through which the appropriate actions are identified to attend and mitigate its effects.

Galván Torres explained that in the Yucatan peninsula the sectors that have normally been affected by the drought have been rain-fed agriculture, extensive cattle ranching, beekeeping, fishing, and rural towns that suffer from shortages due to power supply failures.

He announced that according to the Drought Monitor, the Yucatan peninsula did not present conditions of this phenomenon from last June 2020 until March 2021, however, in its report of April 15 it indicates that 10 percent of the surface, corresponding to eastern Yucatán and northern Quintana Roo, shows an abnormally dry quality. 

So far in 2021, the behavior of rainfall has generally been very close to the historical average, being Campeche the only one with rains below its average during the period from January to March, while in Yucatan they have predominated above their mean. The rainfall forecast for the months of May and June indicates that the historical average could be exceeded by 15 to 25 percent.

Finally, he urged all users of national waters and the authorities of the three levels of government to make more efficient use of the resource to avoid waste, stay informed of the Drought Monitor through the page, and learn about the Preventive Measures Program and Drought Mitigation of the Basin Council of the Yucatan Peninsula. 

Source: La Jornada Maya