He climate change It is an increasingly palpable reality throughout the world. Alterations in the patterns and Meteorological phenomena These are just some of the visible effects of this phenomenon. This alteration is transforming the planet in incisive and sometimes unpredictable ways. Currently, we face a new climate reality, which implies not only recognizing these changes but also taking measures to mitigate them and prepare for their consequences.
In the Province of Mendozahe climate change manifested its effects notably in recent months. The region, known for its semi-arid climate, has experienced an unusual increase in rainfall, recurring snowfall, hail and low temperatures. These phenomena, which were once rare, are becoming increasingly common. This altered not only the daily lives of Mendoza residents, but also key sectors such as agriculture.
Juan Rivera, Conicet researcher, chatted with MDZ Radio 105.5 FM and talked about climate change and detailed the panorama that lies ahead in the province. The doctor in Atmospheric Sciences clarified that, currently, our region is crossed by both the El Niño and La Niña phenomena. After this, he specified what impact these phenomena have had.
The researcher explained that “although the development of a La Niña phenomenon is predicted to occur in the second half of the year, it is not possible to quantify what it will hold for us in the future. We must continue monitoring this phenomenon on a monthly scale “.
On the other hand, Rivera maintained that the possibility of a greater frequency of climate changegenerally, “tend to be sensations or perceptions of the community.”
Climatic phenomena that take center stage
The doctor in Atmospheric Sciences referred to the Meteorological phenomena that occur in Mendoza. Regarding rainfall, he commented that “there is a trend towards an increase over time, at least over the last 60 years, and it could be attributed to climate change because greater warming generates greater evaporation, and this evaporation generates more available water vapor so that the mechanisms that generate storms have more fuel to generate greater precipitation.”
In relation to the phenomena of the Zonda wind and hail, he argued: “It is quite difficult to make associations of specific events where one tries to quantify what the impact of the climate change in the development of a certain extreme phenomenon, such as the Zonda wind phenomenon, hail or intense rain. This type of analysis requires time and infrastructure to process data on a large scale. Doing this type of studies on a smaller scale and more specific requires a little more work, but it is surely a vacant area and an area towards which science wants to try to better understand these phenomena in their relationship with the environment. climate change“.
In recent weeks, snow began to take center stage in Mendoza. The intense snowfalls, especially in high mountains, have represented an atypical panorama at this time for the province. Juan Rivera stated that “we are still under part of the influence of the El Niño phenomenon that is ending over the last few days, which luckily is leaving these snow accumulations in the mountain range. An El Niño phenomenon that began on last year and also allowed the winter of 2023 to have normal or above normal accumulation conditions in some regions of the province. This type of phenomenon is always welcome. Unfortunately, it is not that it rains throughout the winter or that it falls. snow and accumulates evenly throughout this entire period, but it tends to concentrate in four or five of these extreme episodes and bring the associated complications of the case such as the interruption of the passage to Chile.
Climate trends for Mendoza
The Conicet researcher was asked about how these climatic phenomena have impacted the province and how they will continue to have an impact: “More or less at the beginning of autumn or late summer, what was seen was that the El Niño phenomenon was going to end.” more abruptly and was going to give rise to the La Niña phenomenon much more marked, generating a signal of a deficit in the snow accumulation, especially for winter and spring. May and June have recorded good rainfall.
“But, the outlook for the return of La Niña implies that we are going to have a situation towards the end of winter and at the beginning of spring, where we would have a situation of deficit, with greater probabilities of registering accumulated amounts below normal. The same with In the case of temperature, the pattern that favors slightly colder conditions would continue throughout the center of the country. We are in a kind of transition between the two signs of these phenomena,” Rivera concluded.
