Experts warn of hail, whirlwinds in Mexico after new heat record in the capital

MEXICO CITY – Torrential rains, hail and even whirlwinds had been anticipated in the afternoon of May 26 by meteorologists in Mexico, as a third heatwave suffocated dozens of states.

The warning came after the country’s capital Mexico City registered another record-breaking maximum of 34.7 deg C on May 25.

Mexico’s National Water Commission (Conagua) reported that eight Mexican states will face intense rains, but that areas such as the State of Mexico, Hidalgo, Puebla and Queretaro could receive gusts of wind and tornadoes, and the possible formation of vortices.

At least a dozen cities in Mexico have already

broken records for high temperatures in recent days,

in a pressing heatwave that has caused at least 48 deaths from heatstroke and dehydration in two months, according to Mexico’s Ministry of Health.

The intense heat has caused blackouts for several hours in some areas of Mexico, mainly the north, and has led to the suspension of classes in states such as San Luis Potosi, in the centre of the country, where this week thermometers reached 50 deg C again.

Mexico City, located in a valley and with a population of more than 10 million inhabitants, has already broken temperature records three times so far this summer season, in the midst of a persistent drought that continues to test the country’s reservoirs of water and the electrical energy network.

In the colonial city of Puebla, in central Mexico, rain and an unusual hailstorm were recorded this week that caused destruction, flooding, falling trees and gusts of wind of up to 50kmh, according to the local authorities.

“Because the third heatwave of the season will predominate over the national territory, maximum temperatures above 45 deg C are expected in Campeche, Chiapas, Chihuahua, Coahuila, Guerrero, northern Hidalgo, Jalisco and Michoacan,” Conagua predicted.

This week, researchers from the National Autonomous University of Mexico had already warned that in the next 10 to 15 days, the country “will experience the highest temperatures recorded in history”, which will worsen levels of pollutants in the affected areas due to the presence of ozone.

The heat is also worsening the effects of the drought, which already impacts more than 70 per cent of the country to varying extents, according to Conagua data, with almost a third of the country affected by extreme drought, which can be lethal. REUTERS