Consequences of climate change in Yucatan

Due to its location, Yucatan is more vulnerable to the negative effects of climate change.

MÉRIDA, Yucatan.- In Yucatan, climate change will result in an increase in human mortality during periods of extreme weather such as heatwaves.

This was pointed out by Salvador Flores Guido, research professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán (UADY), during the celebration of World Environment Day.

The specialist explained that in the face of imminent climate change it is necessary to undertake research work, design public policies, and dissemination that seek to raise awareness of the vulnerability of the different natural and cultural systems of Yucatan.

“The debate on climate change in the Yucatan Peninsula has gone beyond scientific circles to become a matter of social concern because it plays an important role in ecosystems, economy, and culture.”

The professor warned that the Peninsula has suffered different effects of climate change, such as:

In crops, it caused modifications in planting and harvesting times.
In the coastal zone, climate variations affected the dynamics of fishing and biodiversity, altering the mangrove ecosystem.

More droughts.

“Droughts can translate into a higher incidence of fires, livestock diseases, water demand problems, gastrointestinal diseases,” he added.

The professor, with more than 50 years of teaching, indicated that the Yucatan Peninsula is a natural region whose geographical conditions make it sensitive to suffer the consequences of climate change.

Another very important point, he said, is the impact on human health because the heat now is much more intense than a few years ago and extreme temperatures, both high and low, can cause physiological disturbances and damage to different organs causing illness or death in human beings.

In this sense, he mentioned that one of the most certain and direct consequences of climate change is an increase in human morbidity and mortality in periods of extreme weather such as heatwaves.