Mexico Climate Change
Mexico Climate Background and Climate Change
Mexico’s climate varies greatly depending on altitude, with some parts experiencing desert-like temperatures and others a more tropical climate. During the winter months, the northern region of the country sees colder temperatures and heavier rainfall.
The southeast of the country has a tropical rainy climate with no dry season and only a brief dry season. El Nino episodes provide cool, wet weather to northern Mexico in the winter, whereas La Nina events bring warmer, drier weather during the same time period.
Temperature
Since 1960, the average annual temperature has risen by 0.6°C at a pace of 0.13°C each decade.
The rate of increase is fastest in the dry seasons (0.18-0.2°C per decade) and slowest in the wet seasons (0.18-0.2°C per decade) (June-August and September-November).
Precipitation
Since 1960, there has been no persistent rise or reduction in mean rainfall over Mexico.
In 2004, an exceptionally wet fall resulted in an apparent upward trend from September to November.
Because of its varied topography and location between two seas, Mexico is more vulnerable to extreme weather occurrences such tropical cyclones, frosts, heat waves, and floods. Flooding and severe winds can cause damage to aging transportation, electrical, and water infrastructure, especially in coastal locations.
Coastal tourism, a major source of revenue for Mexico, is also under jeopardy, as is the degradation of varied marine habitats. Extreme temperatures and irregular rainfall have a significant impact on agricultural productivity in rural areas, especially crops and cattle.
Agriculture, industrial activities, land-use change and forestry, and garbage are the major sources of greenhouse gas emissions.
How is Climate Change Affecting Mexico?
“Climate change has become the biggest long-term threat to this city’s future,” . Because it is linked to water, health, air pollution, flood-related traffic disruption, and housing vulnerability to landslides, we can’t begin to address any of the city’s genuine concerns without addressing the climate issue.”
We’d argue that the same is true for the rest of the country – and the rest of the planet. Climate change has an impact on all aspects of our life.
Here are three of the most prominent ways that climate change is already affecting Mexico and its citizens. Plus, as a bonus, two ways you can help address the climate catastrophe right now.
Heat
Northern Mexico’s average annual temperatures could climb by 3–4 degrees Celsius (5.4–7.2 degrees Fahrenheit) by the end of the century. What about the rest of the nation? Temperatures could rise by 1.5 – 2.5 degrees Celsius (approximately 2.7 – 4.5 degrees Fahrenheit).
A few degrees may not seem like much, but consider the following: What is the difference between 0 degrees Celsius and 1 degrees Celsius? That is the distinction between ice and water. A tiny variation in temperature can have a significant impact on the systems we rely on to live.
The fingerprints of climate change can be seen everywhere as Mexico (and the rest of the planet) warms. Sea-level rise, longer and more intense wildfire seasons, and disastrous droughts are all being seen by climate experts (just to name a few). And, more crucially, ordinary people are affect
Water Scarcity
Significant increases in population, industrial and agricultural activity, and living standards have increased water stress in many parts of the world, particularly in semi-arid and arid regions, over the last century. Climate change, on the other hand, will increase or mitigate the consequences of population pressure in different parts of the world in the coming decades.
In most dry subtropical climates, it is expected to drastically limit renewable surface and groundwater resources. Water resources, on the other hand, are expected to rise at high latitudes. Runoff has a proportional change that is one to three times greater than precipitation.
Furthermore, even with standard treatment, climate change is expected to degrade raw water quality, posing a risk to drinking water quality.
Mexico City, in particular, is thirsty. Because of its massive lakes, the city (formerly known as Tenochtitlan) was dubbed “the Venice of the New World” centuries ago. Mexico City, on the other hand, now has to pump water from deep underground – in fact, “as much as 40% of its water comes from faraway sources.”
Mexico Climate Change, while not the main reason, is expected to exacerbate the crisis, with the poorest people bearing the brunt of the consequences. As water becomes scarce in areas like Cape Town, South Africa, we are already seeing these injustices play out.
Food insecurity is a result of water scarcity. In 2011, Mexico had its worst drought in recorded history. More than 1.7 million livestock died from malnutrition or thirst, and at least 2.2 million acres of crops in at least five states wilted.
The administration had no choice except to transport water to 1,500 communities and supply food to farmers who had lost all of their crops.
So, how does drought connect to climate change? As humans emit more greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere, more heat is trapped, causing air temperatures to rise.
More moisture evaporates from land, lakes, rivers, and other bodies of water when air temperatures rise. Warmer temperatures also increase evaporation in the soil, affecting plant life and potentially reducing rainfall.
Agriculture
In reality, Mexico Climate Change could reduce the suitability of Mexico’s current agriculture by 40 to 70 percent by 2030. Worse, by the end of the century, this might have dropped by 80% to 100%.
We’re talking about Mexico losing more than half of its productive crops in less than a decade, and all of them by 2100. This isn’t a cause for concern; it’s a disaster waiting to happen.
Loss of agriculture can lead to malnutrition, relocation, and, ultimately, death. Permanent migration is common, particularly among rural households.
Every year, Climate Realty educates thousands of new Climate Reality Leaders – ordinary people dedicated to resolving the climate issue. Attendees collaborate with former US Vice President Al Gore and leading climate scientists during our Climate Reality Leadership Corps trainings.
The expected impacts of global climate change and extreme weather on crop nutrient content and yields, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture, and land use would jeopardize food security.
Crop suitability has already been influenced by climate change in many locations, resulting in variations in output levels of major agricultural crops. Climate change has a negative impact on crop output, both directly and indirectly.
Changes in rainfall extremes, increases in hot nights, exceptionally high daytime temperatures, drought, heat stress, flood, and chilling damage are all examples of direct extremes. Indirect effects include the spread of pests and diseases, both of which can be harmful to agricultural systems (IPCC Global Warming Report, 2018).
Mexico Climate and Global Climate Change
Mexico has been classified as being particularly sensitive to the effects of global climate change, many of which are irreversible (First and Second Communication, NC1/NC2 to the UNFCCC).
Continuous increases in the Gulf of Mexico’s sea surface temperature, continuous sea level rise affecting coastal areas in inland basins, hurricane intensification, changes in water precipitation cycles, net decreases in water runoffs, and other effects are among them.
Given the long-term, irreversible nature of these changes and the nature of their consequences, it is critical for Mexico to begin an adaptation process. The susceptibility to climate change has been examined by the NCs, with an emphasis on areas and sectors that are particularly vulnerable to climatic impacts, such as water resources, forestry, agriculture, coastal zones, particularly wetlands, drought, and desertification.
The impact on water supplies is a major cause of concern, as is the impact on the Gulf’s coastal region, which is viewed as the most vulnerable to the combined effects of climate change.
Mexico Climate Change models predict that global warming will cause Mexico to become warmer and drier. Although some models predict increased precipitation, in most cases, this does not compensate for increased potential evaporation.
As a result, soil moisture and water availability may decline across much of Mexico, posing major threats to rainfed and irrigated agriculture, municipal and industrial water supplies, hydropower, and ecosystems.
However, assessing the effects of global warming in Mexico is a difficult process because model estimates vary greatly, particularly for precipitation, and models perform poorly in reproducing Mexico’s observed climate.
Mexico Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management
Mexico Climate Change has become increasingly exposed to catastrophic disasters in recent decades. Increased exposure to natural disasters is being caused by population development and the concentration of physical assets in high-risk locations.
Asset losses are exacerbated by unplanned and unregulated land use, a lack of environmental restrictions, and low building standards. These trends are anticipated to continue, and combined with a changing climate and increased climatic variability, disasters are predicted to become more common.
Mexico is one of the world’s 30 most vulnerable countries to three or more types of natural catastrophes, with 60 million people affected by disasters between 1970 and 2009.
Hurricanes, storms, floods, earthquakes, and volcanic eruptions affect roughly 41% of Mexico’s area and 31% of its population. In economic terms, this means that 30% of GDP is considered to be at danger from three or more risks, and 71% is considered to be at risk from two or more hazards.
Natural disasters place a tremendous financial strain on Mexico’s federal budget. The cost of post-disaster restoration of public assets and low-income housing averaged $880 million per year between 1999 and 2011. Major floods in 2010 cost more than $5 billion in reconstruction expenses, with local assets accounting for two-thirds of the total (including low income housing).
reference – climateknowledgeportal-worldbank
recentclimate – Mexico Climate Change and Disaster Risk Management