NASA reveals huge water reservoirs in Quintana Roo and Yucatán as Mexico dries up

Map of the space agency reveals high concentration of water and humidity in the Yucatan Peninsula.

AMexico, (September 29, 2021).- Almost 85 percent of Mexico today suffers from one of the worst droughts in recent decades , this according to a study by the United States Space Agency (NASA), which reveals a special situation: the presence of huge water reservoirs in Quintana Roo and Yucatán.

The NASA Terrestrial Observatory published on its website a study on the presence of water in our country, a text that presents a bleak outlook due to the widespread drought .

“Mexico is experiencing one of the most widespread and intense droughts in decades. As of April 15, 2021, nearly 85 percent of the country is facing drought conditions. Large dams throughout Mexico are at exceptionally low levels, which depletes water resources for drinking, cultivating and irrigating ”.

This situation is evidenced by the Operational Earth Image Generator (OLI), which shows the Villa Victoria dam, one of the main water supplies in Mexico City:

Villa Victoria is at approximately one third of its normal capacity .

A similar situation occurs in other parts of northern and central Mexico, whose dams are less than 25 percent of their capacity, causing many families to be left without regular access to drinking water.  

Quintana Roo and Yucatán: the other side of the coin

The map provided by NASA also shows a singular fact: the southeast of the country does not seem to suffer the harshest attacks of the drought, especially Quintana Roo and Yucatán.

In the image it is evident that the Evaporative Stress Index – how much water evaporates from the earth and plants – is much lower in the vegetation of the states of Quintana Roo, Yucatán, and Campeche, where humidity is most deprived:

“(These) observations are used to estimate evapotranspiration, or how much water evaporates from the earth’s surface and from plant leaves.

Based on variations in Earth’s surface temperatures, the ESI indicates how the current evapotranspiration rate – averaged over 12 weeks from early February to April 30 on this map – compares to normal conditions.

Negative values ​​are below normal rates and indicate plants that are stressed due to inadequate soil moisture ”.

One of the worst droughts in history

The NASA study also reveals that the Mexican National Meteorological Service itself confirms that the northwest and northeast went from suffering severe to extreme drought.

From October 1, 2020 to April 18, 2021, the country had around 20 percent less rainfall than normal.

La Niña: a solution to the drought

As La Niña wanes, meteorologists expect warming waters to bring much-needed rain. Rain fell recently in Mexico, but mainly in states with mild drought conditions. Mexico’s meteorological service says the rains may not come fully until the rainy season in June.

Source: Sipse