High temperatures cause 48 deaths in Mexico

The government of Mexico reported, this Friday (24/05), that due to the high temperatures that have hit the country since March, 48 people died. In response to the information, scientists warned that the intense heat wave could cause temperature records to rise excessively on Mexican soil in the coming days.

The forecast is that the hot season, which began on March 17 this year, will continue until October. According to the Department of Health, 48 people have already died as a result of the phenomenon and 956 people have suffered various reactions and effects.

Victims

“This heat situation is exceptional” declared the President of Mexico, Andrés Manuel López Obrador, during the press conference in which he presented the information and added that this is a regrettable natural phenomenon, because it has to do with climate change, reinforcing that high temperatures and the low rate of Wind is making the country's pollution problem even bigger.

The state with the highest number of deaths is Veracruz, in the east, with 14 victims, followed by San Luís Potosí, which is in the north of the country; Tabasco (south); and Tamaulípas (northeast), with 8 people each. The data shows how the heat wave enveloped the entire country.

Monkeys died from the heat

In the south of the country, in Tabasco and Chiapas, temperatures exceeded 45°C and caused the death of dozens of howler monkeys, endangered monkeys. In videos taken by local residents, some monkeys were already lying dead on the ground, while others were clearly haggard and weak. Biologist Gilberto Pozo claimed that the thermal sensation reached 51°C and that the Mexican fauna is suffering from the lack of water.

_{Biologists and veterinarians help monkeys in precarious situations due to the heat, while recording the deaths of others (Video: reproduction/Youtube/Folha de São Paulo)}

The country also received a warning that in the next two weeks there is a high probability that the temperature index will reach records never seen in history. The warning was given by Scientists at the National Autonomous University of Mexico.

Featured photo: illustrative image of a thermometer and a Mexican city in the background (Reproduction/Meteored/José Martins Cortes)