Mexico - Land of fire

Mexico is a land of contrasts. Scorching heat on the coasts, eternal snow on the mountain peaks, volcanoes, earthquakes, and hurricanes.

But Mexico also boasts year-round spring-like temperatures in some regions, refreshing cenotes, and above all, a welcoming, smiling, warm, and sometimes even… fiery population, just like their country.

Credit: Grok, cenote

Earthquakes

Mexico, located at the junction of several tectonic plates, is one of the countries most prone to earthquakes, along with Chile and Japan. On average, Mexico experiences 40 earthquakes a day. Of course, not all of them are very large, but we all remember—well, the older generation remembers—the 1985 Mexico City earthquake where more than 10,000 people lost their lives.

credit: Fotolia

I've only felt one since I arrived, a very small one. Nothing to worry about. My partner, on the other hand, still regrets leaving Bangkok two days before the last earthquake and is hoping to experience a "good" one here. Time will tell.

For those who are interested, I've found a list of places, updated live, where you can see all the hiccups of our beautiful blue planet.

Volcanoes

Mexico is active and… it burns.

The Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt is a serie of volcanoes that divides Mexico in two, from the Pacific to the Atlantic. It measures 900 km by 130 km.

This chain of volcanoes is located at the meeting point of two tectonic plates.

credit: Wikipédia, Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt

Mexico is very generous with its volcanoes. In addition to those in the Volcanic Belt, they can be found all over the place... from north to south.

credit: Google Map, volcanoes of Mexico

Since 1900, six volcanoes have been highly active, and one of them, Popocatepetl, is considered one of the most dangerous in the world, primarily due to its proximity to major cities like Mexico City and Puebla. Approximately 25 million people live within a 100-kilometer radius of the volcano. However, with modern monitoring tools, the risks have been significantly reduced.

Popocatepetl, affectionately known as Popo, has erupted 13 times since 1900. This suggests that one, or several, more eruptions are likely in the near future.

credit: Hernando Rivera, the Popocatepetl

Hurricanes

In the tropics, there are no snowstorms, ice storms, or polar cold. However, there are hurricanes. These cyclones, which form in the oceans between the Tropics of Cancer and Capricorn, sometimes become tropical depressions and then storms. The final stage has different names around the world: hurricane, typhoon, or cyclone.

credit: Encyclopædia Universalis France

Fun fact

You'll notice that cyclones form near the equator and move away from it either westward (north of the equator) or eastward (south of the equator). Therefore, cyclones cannot cross the equator because the closer they get to it, the more they lose strength.

Credit: Nasa. This map shows the tracks of all tropical cyclones that formed between 1985 and 2005.

Global warming...

Some people confuse weather and climate, so here are some excerpts from studies published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory, U.S. government agencies.

"In summary, it is premature to conclude with certainty that the increase in human-caused greenhouse gases has led to a change in past cyclonic activity in the Atlantic basin that exceeds the limits of natural variability."

"Such a link between an increase in the hurricane proliferation index or their frequency and an increase in greenhouse gases has not been established."

"Regarding major hurricanes (categories 3 to 5) across the Atlantic basin, Vecchi et al. (2021) conclude that their counts also show little evidence of a long-term increase (since the 1880s); They also show that major hurricanes making landfall in the United States have not shown a significant upward trend since the late 19th century.

“We conclude that historical data on Atlantic hurricanes do not provide convincing evidence of a substantial, century-long, climate-induced increase in the frequency of tropical storms, hurricanes, or major hurricanes, or in the proportion of hurricanes that become major hurricanes.”

NOAA/GFDL, November 20, 2024

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory

In conclusion, Mexico is a country of contrasts which, despite being “slightly” more unstable than Canada, has sensational aspects that I will continue to discover and share with you.