“Heat dome” brings sweltering temperatures to Mexico, Central America and the southern United States

Extreme heat in Mexico, Central America and parts of the southern United States has plunged millions of people into sweltering temperatures, strained energy grids and led to Iconic howler monkeys fall dead in Mexico trees.

Meteorologists say these conditions were caused by what some call a heat dome – an area of ​​high pressure centered over the southern Gulf of Mexico and northern Central America that prevented clouds from forming and caused lots of sunshine and hot temperatures. This extreme heat occurs in a rapidly warming world due to greenhouse gases, which come from the burning of fossil fuels like oil, gas and coal.

High temperatures extend across the Gulf of Mexico to parts of the United States, including Texas and Florida. The heat comes as thousands of people in Texas remain without power after thunderstorms hit parts of the state last week.

Shawn Bhatti, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service forecast office in Miami, said southerly winds from the tropics carried warm, humid air northward from the equator, contributing to the unusually warm conditions.

South Florida has been warmer than normal. Miami International Airport recorded a daily high of 96 degrees Fahrenheit (35.6 degrees Celsius) on May 19. This exceeded the temperatures of 86 to 88 degrees (around 30 degrees Celsius) that Miami normally experiences this time of year.

A heat advisory issued by the NWS was in effect Thursday for parts of Texas. Temperatures along the Rio Grande are expected to rise to 111 degrees Fahrenheit (43.9 degrees Celsius) and 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 degrees Celsius) in the Davis and Chinati Mountains.

Experts say the heat spell raises concerns about ocean water temperatures and their influence on the upcoming Atlantic hurricane season.

The region is transitioning from an El Nino phenomenon, where tropical cyclone activity in the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic is generally reduced, to a La Nina phenomenon in which the likelihood of tropical cyclone activity tropical cyclones are increasing, said Andrew Kruczkiewicz, a senior researcher at Columbia University. Climate School at Columbia University.

Kruczkiewicz said extreme heat adds another ingredient to the risk of tropical cyclone activity this season, since these storms are fueled by warm ocean temperatures.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said Thursday there is an 85 percent chance that the Atlantic hurricane season, which begins June 1, is over. Storm activity is above average.

Mexico’s brutal heat wave has been linked to the deaths of more than two dozen people since March. But the worst is expected at the end of this week and the beginning of next week.

Mónica Erendira Jiménez, from the Mexican meteorological service, said that the current heatwave will be one of the longest and most worrying in 2024, as it affects the vast majority of the country. In May, more than 46 localities recorded record temperatures.

The situation is particularly dire in places like Mexico City, which on May 9 recorded a record high of nearly 94 degrees Fahrenheit (34.3 degrees Celsius) and is expected to reach 95 degrees Fahrenheit (35 Celsius) in the coming days. In the capital, heat combines with pollution, so ozone concentrations are expected to increase, warned the climate change program at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

The impacts on wildlife have shocked scientists, who reported the deaths of more than 130 howler monkeys in the southeastern jungles and higher bird mortality in the northern part of the country, likely due to heat and to other factors.

With below average precipitation across almost the entire country this year, lakes and dams dry up And water reserves are running out.

Protests multiplied. A group of police officers blocked six lanes of traffic on a main avenue in Mexico City on Wednesday, saying their barracks had lacked water for a week and toilets were unusable.

Authorities had to truck water to hospitals and fire crews.

Low levels at hydroelectric dams have contributed to power outages in parts of the country, and this week the country’s largest convenience store chain – OXXO – announced it was limiting ice purchases to two or three bags per customer in some locations.

The Mexican Meteorological Service is predicting another heat wave for June, but it should be shorter and less severe than this one.

Neighboring countries including Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador, Honduras, Dominican Republic and Haiti are also experiencing unusually warm temperatures due to this high pressure area.

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O’Malley reported from Philadelphia, Verza from Mexico.

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