Heat wave intensifies in Mérida due to lack of trees, Conagua alerts

Mérida, Yucatán, (July 24, 2021).- Every year the days with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in Merida have been increasing, which reveals an upward trend of extreme temperatures for longer periods.

Although there are no elements to link this situation with climate change, it is a fact that the capital of Yucatan increasingly faces longer periods in which it exceeds temperatures that are close to reaching the historical maximum of 43.6 degrees Celsius.

The specialist of the Regional Hydrometeorological Center of Mérida, belonging to the Conagua, Jaime Choncoa Morán, explained that the records they have in the Mérida Observatory indicate that year after year the periods with temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius are longer, which can trigger more gastrointestinal illnesses, as well as heatstroke.

Last year, he recalled that Mérida had a period of a heatwave that exceeded 11 consecutive days, in which temperatures between 41 and 43 degrees Celsius were maintained, which impacts public health significantly, because there is an increase in gastrointestinal cases, due to which food spoils more quickly.

“The city has experienced quite accelerated growth, mainly since 2005 and with it the reduction of vegetation on the periphery of the city, in addition to the fact that there is evidence that there have been changes in climate patterns worldwide and this has repercussions on a local scale too”, he commented.

“The weather shows us that the hottest months are from May, but a rather curious phenomenon happens because the month with the hottest days above 40 degrees is in May, but the most extreme values ​​have occurred in April, that is to say, that one, two or three days there have been very high temperatures and that is when we have had historical records ”, explained Jaime Choncoa.

When the month of June arrives, the high temperatures continue, but they tend to drop a little because the tropical waves begin to arrive and that increases the cloudiness and somehow there is less solar radiation.

Source: Yucatán a la mano

The Yucatan Times Newsroom