The third heatwave of the year in Mexico will cause temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius in 24 states of the country this Sunday, more than two-thirds of the total of 32, including 13 with temperatures exceeding 45 degrees Celsius, according to the forecast by the National Meteorological Service (SMN).
The SMN estimates that temperatures will surpass 45 degrees Celsius in Baja California Sur, Campeche, Coahuila, Guerrero, Michoacán, Nuevo León, San Luis Potosí, Sinaloa, Sonora, Tabasco, Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Yucatán, covering entities from all regions of the country.
Maximum temperatures of 40 to 45 degrees Celsius are expected in Baja California, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Colima, northern Hidalgo, Jalisco, Morelos, Nayarit, Oaxaca, northern and southwestern Puebla, and Quintana Roo, adds the report by the National Water Commission (Conagua).
Additionally, the thermometer is expected to reach a maximum of 35 to 40 degrees Celsius in Aguascalientes, Durango, southwestern State of Mexico, Guanajuato, northern Querétaro, and Zacatecas, and from 30 to 35 degrees in Mexico City and Tlaxcala.
The SMN details that the heatwave is generated “at mid-levels of the atmosphere” that will settle over the west of the country.
The demand for electricity due to the heat has caused massive blackouts in cities across nearly half of the states this month, leading the National Energy Control Center (Cenace) to declare an emergency in the electrical system on several occasions, and this Saturday it was considered on alert.
However, Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador congratulated the workers and technicians of the Federal Electricity Commission on social media because “even though there is a higher demand due to the heat and more consumption during peak hours, we have gone 10 consecutive days without service interruption.”
On the other hand, the Meteorological Service expects intense rains of 75 to 150 millimeters on Saturday night and Sunday in regions of Campeche, Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Tabasco.
There will also be very strong rains of 50 to 75 millimeters in areas of Mexico City, State of Mexico, Puebla, Tlaxcala, and southern Veracruz, as well as strong rains of 25 to 50 millimeters in Guanajuato, Guerrero, Nuevo León, Querétaro, San Luis Potosí, and Tamaulipas, and isolated rains of 0.1 to 5 millimeters in Michoacán, Quintana Roo, and Yucatán.
The Mexican government predicted at least five heatwaves between March and July on April 16th, when it recorded 95 cases associated with the temperatures and one death.
The country’s capital, Mexico City, reached a record maximum temperature of 34.2 degrees on May 17th, surpassing the 33.9 degrees recorded in 1998, according to the SMN.
Source: La Jornada Maya
