Hot spell in Yucatan refuses to let up as Progreso sets new record

Wildfires in late March predicted a searingly hot April. Photo NASA

At least it’s not humid.

And the skies are clear. So blue. So pretty.

But we can’t avoid the real issue with the weather right now: unrelenting heat.

By mid afternoon, Merida reached at least 41C / 106F. Mexico’s National Meteorological Service predicts that in the coming days, temperatures could exceed 45C / 113F in parts of Yucatan, Oaxaca, Tabasco and Campeche.

A high pressure system at medium levels of the atmosphere isn’t going anywhere soon, forecasters predict. Twenty-two states are enduring this heat wave.

Friday in Progreso, where people traditionally go to beat the heat, temperatures soared to 41.8C / 107.2F, the highest since weather data was recorded here.

In Maní, which again seems to be Yucatan’s most sun-scorched municipality, it reached 46C / 114.8F, while in Merida it reached 42.7 ° C, less than 1 degree C from the absolute record for heat.

The next seven days appear to be rubber stamped, with nearly identical weather conditions.

Making it worse, Yucatan is the midst of its worst drought in 34 years, which tends to bring more wildfires dotting the Peninsula.

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