Three tropical waves are expected to cross Yucatán during the first week of September, building toward the weekend and raising the risk of street flooding in low-lying areas, according to meteorologist Juan Antonio Palma Solís of Meteored México. The timing lines up with the Atlantic’s busiest stretch of the year. The season’s climatological peak falls…
Mérida has landed on a global list it would rather avoid: the 50 cities most vulnerable to extreme heat, according to new international research. The city ranked 47th out of 205 cities studied worldwide in a paper published in the journal Sustainable Cities and Society, led by researchers including a team from the University of…
Yucatán’s farmers are tearing up the old planting calendar. Decades of predictable seasons have given way to erratic rain and shifting temperatures, forcing growers across the state to rethink when — and how — they plant, according to the state’s Secretaría de Desarrollo Rural (Seder). The four seasons that once guided the agricultural cycle are…
Facing its worst sargassum season on record, Mexico’s federal government unveiled a new strategy July 30 to intercept the seaweed before it reaches Quintana Roo’s beaches, backed by MX$2.64 billion — roughly US$150 million — in new spending. President Claudia Sheinbaum announced the plan during her morning press conference at Palacio Nacional, flanked by Navy…
A massive red tide threatening Yucatán’s western coastline has reached critical levels. Scientists have documented a 336-fold increase in harmful algae that’s pushing dissolved oxygen to near-fatal levels for marine species. Dead fish and live octopuses have been washing ashore at Progreso since late July, raising questions about seafood safety. Dr. Jorge Herrera Silveira, who…
Mexico’s environmental protection agency is pursuing criminal charges against Mennonites accused of illegally clearing more than 2,600 hectares (6,425 acres) of forest across the Yucatán Peninsula. The Federal Attorney for Environmental Protection (Profepa) announced it has filed two criminal complaints and plans to file five more against the religious communities. The charges stem from inspections…
Jorge Carrillo Sáenz, the president of Yucatán’s Tourism Business Council, knows the routine by now. Families from the north pack their cars for Mexican Caribbean beach vacations at Playa del Carmen or Tulum. Then they see the photos online. Piles of brown seaweed. Dead fish floating in cloudy water. The smell of rotting algae. They…
Thirteen community groups from across the Yucatán Peninsula gathered in Río Lagartos to form an innovative network of community weather stations designed specifically for fishermen, beekeepers, farmers, and tourism operators. The project represents an unprecedented effort to transform weather data into practical tools for local livelihoods. Fishermen can now plan safer trips by predicting wind…
As the official 2025 Atlantic hurricane season entered its fourth week, an unusual quiet has settled over the waters surrounding the Yucatán Peninsula. Despite forecasts predicting an above-average season with 17 named storms, nine hurricanes, and four major hurricanes, the Atlantic basin has yet to produce its first named storm, marking the slowest start in…
Despite the early start to the 2024 hurricane season due to warm water temperatures, Mérida’s historical resilience is a reassuring factor. As an inland city in the northwest of the Yucatán Peninsula, Mérida is shielded from direct hurricane strikes. Tropical storms passing near the city are typically weakened because they travel over land. Though Mérida…
In just eight years, 3 billion cubic meters of water concessions have been granted in the Yucatán Peninsula. If this trend continues, available water resources will be overallocated within two years, potentially increasing human use and consumption costs, according to Alejandro López Tamayo, general director of Centinelas de Agua, or Water Sentinels in English. López…
Beryl wasn’t as damaging as advertised, but we’ll be ready for the next inevitable storm of hurricane season.
The Yucatán hurricane season is definitely on early. Depending on which computer model you believe, the Peninsula could be hit with the first of several hurricanes this weekend. While we keep an eye on Beryl, here’s a brief history to put this possibly rocky hurricane season in context. The Yucatán Peninsula has weathered its share…
Mérida has experienced a deluge of historic proportions. Meteorologist Juan Ernesto Vázquez Montalvo reported that Sunday’s rainfall was the second heaviest recorded in the city, surpassed only by Hurricane Isidoro in 2002. While not as prolonged, the rains were copious and lightning was frequent. According to Vázquez Montalvo, the northeast region of Mérida received 7.1…
The Yucatán Peninsula is experiencing a brutal heat wave that’s drawing attention to the region’s vulnerability to a changing climate.
The relatively early arrival of extreme heat to Yucatán has brought with it hundreds of fires, big and small.
That’s all for now
That’s all for now