Rising temperatures in the coming few months will trigger dozens of forest fires in Jalisco before the rainy season begins in mid-June.
But just how prepared are firefighting forces and emergency response teams to tackle what may be a difficult dry season, given predictions that the El Niño climate phenomenon will return this spring and exacerbate extreme weather around the globe?
Last week, the Jalisco state government showed a sample of its firefighting capacity, which it says is sufficient to quell the expected barrage of wildfires and forest fires coming our way. The public display came a few days after several hundred firefighters tackled a fierce blaze in the Primavera Forest that scorched a wide area and sent clouds of thick smoke drifting over the Guadalajara metropolitan area, activating an air quality emergency.
Even though only two months of the year have passed, firefighters have already been busy containing fires around the state. As of February 26, a record number of forest fires—119 in total, affecting 4,250 hectares—have been reported, as well as more than 120 smaller ones in grassland and brush.
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