FEBRUARY ENDED WITH AN EXTREME, NOT MORE ABNORMAL HEAT IN LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES!
Perhaps Europe cannot think alike!
I had an interesting conversation with colleagues from South America about the many terms related to drought, heat waves, air temperature, thermal stress, urban heat islands, and the temperature difference between urban and rural, among others. How it is calculated, and what from these definitions are used in many regions, depending on the sector that uses them or the policies where they are implemented. Criteria that consider the temperature between 28 and 29 degrees Celsius as a threshold to be considered are not the same if we refer to high-altitude areas, coastal areas, more desert areas, or remote areas without an urban population. But an example such as in Ecuador, where a city (Guayaquil) has been exposed to above-normal temperatures >29 C for several days (see graph, station INAHMI 2024), validates the presence of these extreme thermal events. In 2023 more extreme evidence of 45.0°C in Bolivia 
ties the warmest temperature ever recorded in the entire Southern Hemisphere winter. 41.9°C breaks the national record in Paraguay 
for August. Therefore, scientific assessment in this context is necessary, and its contribution with evidence to operational decisions, which for many countries represents a challenge with limitations in its analysis. I conclude that we must continue sharing these experiences throughout Latin America to achieve a balance in response capacity and the use of appropriate terminology for a better understanding of the events. The European experience reveals that we all experience heat skepticism differently, but we all perceive it as an increase in intensity, regardless of our location. See the next article to know more about it..!
February ends with extreme and unusual heat (wmo.int)
- While a heatwave is excessive heat, a drought is a shortage of water. A drought typically starts with a deficit of precipitation over an extended period, which leads to a reduction of soil moisture as well as shortages of water in streams, rivers, reservoirs, and groundwater -
