Mexico is about to experience its ‘highest temperatures ever recorded’ as death toll climbs

 

Mexico is about to experience its ‘highest temperatures ever recorded’ as death toll climbs

The extreme heat smothering much of Mexico has killed dozens of people across multiple state

The sun rises amid high temperatures in Mexico City on Thursday. Extreme heat in Mexico, Central America and parts of the U.S. South has left millions of people in sweltering temperatures, strained energy grids and resulted in iconic howler monkeys in Mexico dropping dead from trees. (Marco Ugarte/The Associated Press)

The extreme heat smothering much of Mexico has already killed dozens of people, but the hottest temperatures are yet to come, officials say.

“In the next 10 to 15 days, the country will experience the highest temperatures ever recorded,” researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) said in a statement earlier this week. They called the heat wave “unprecedented.”

According to the Weather Channel, by early next week, temperatures in Veracruz are expected to soar to 37 C, Tabasco will be 40 C and Mexicali will reach temperatures of 40.5 C.

Temperatures in the capital, Mexico City, could reach a record 35 C in the next two weeks, said Jorge Zavala, director of UNAM’s Institute of Atmospheric Sciences and Climate Change.

Most of the metropolitan area’s 21 million residents — accustomed to more temperate weather — lack air conditioning. Earlier this month, the capital was one of at least 10 cities in Mexico that registered their hottest day on record.

A boy dives into the sea on a hot spring day in Veracruz, Mexico, on Tuesday, amid a nationwide drought and heat waves that have sent temperatures soaring across much of the country. (Yahir Ceballos/Reuters)

Mexico has been reeling from a high-pressure weather phenomenon known as a “heat dome,” which has trapped hot air over much of the country, creating record-breaking temperatures that have surpassed 45 C in some places.

Heat-related causes killed 22 people between May 12 and 21, according to preliminary figures shared by Mexico’s health ministry. The 10-day period overlapped with the second and third heat waves out of five forecast for March to July by the country’s top weather agencies. The third heat wave is ongoing.

The new deaths bring the toll from the extreme temperatures to 48 since the hot season began on March 17, mostly due to heat stroke and some to dehydration. At the same point in Mexico’s hot seasons of 2022 and 2023, the health ministry had reported just two and three heat-related deaths, respectively.

Health ministry data also shows hundreds more people have survived heat stroke, sunburn, dehydration and other heat-related conditions.

Sweltering heat has exacerbated a nationwide drought and strained Mexico’s power grid, with monkeys dropping dead from trees due to suspected dehydration.

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