If you live in Guadalajara, you might have felt like a candle in a furnace these past few days.
For most of this week, the University of Guadalajara’s Institute of Astronomy and Meteorology has recorded average temperatures of 36 degrees Celsius in the shade, or 96.8 degrees Fahrenheit.
However, data from the National Water Commission (CNA) suggests you should gather up your wax and stop feeling sorry for yourself. According to the CNA, the highest temperature registered Tuesday of this week in Jalisco was 44 degrees Celsius (111 Fahrenheit), an infernal bake suffered by residents of Tuxpan de Bolaños, a town of 5,000 in the remote northern part of the state.
Another piece of data to give those feeling martyred by the heat some perspective: this time last year in Guadalajara, the mercury rose to tease the 40-degree mark.
Among many factors accounted for in relation to the recent heat wave, meteorologists have made special note of a jump in the sun’s radiation, something that can have adverse effects on one’s health. Authorities recommend you stay in the shade and wear sunglasses, long-sleeved shirts and sun block while outside.
There’s a silver lining, however. In the coming days the temperature is predicted to drop, a shift which may also be accompanied by scattered rain. These showers will not necessarily mean that the rainy season is immediately upon us. The temporada de lluvias usually begins pretty much on schedule in mid-June. That’s when you can expect short, but intense tropical thunderstorms to kick in, often in the early or late evenings.