The world’s major scientific weather monitoring bodies recently announced that a new global heat record was set in 2023.
According to Time magazine, last year’s temperature average sparked heat waves, floods and wildfires around the world, with US$28 billion of climate damage in the United States alone.
With spring just around the corner, the chilly winter nights and mornings in Guadalajara and its environs will soon be coming to an end.
According to data from the National Meteorological Service (SMN) rises in temperature have already been noted in many parts of the country, and the National Water Commission (Conagua) notes that the first heat waves of the year can be expected in March, rather than April, as is usually the case.
Last year’s record heat was partly attributed to El Niño climate phenomenon, which is expected to extend well into the northern hemisphere during the spring and early summer.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, 2024 has a one-in-three chance of hitting even higher temperatures from last year, and a 99-percent chance that it will rank among the top five warmest years in human history.
Jalisco Governor Enrique Alfaro has warned that the March to May 2024 dry season (temporada de estiaje) could be one of the hottest on record.