Drought in Hermosillo: Two consecutive months with critical water levels in 10 years. Moreover, February 2025 promises to be one of the warmest in the Sonoran capital’s recent history.
For the first time in the last decade, Hermosillo has recorded two consecutive months of extreme drought in January, with 2024 and 2025 marked in red on the Mexico Drought Monitor.
According to the monitor, which depends on the National Meteorological Service (SMN) of the National Water Commission (Conagua), in the last 10 years these two years have shown an extreme condition, while in 2023 and 2021 it was moderate and severe, with the rest unaffected.
At present, 100% of the state’s territory is affected by drought, including five municipalities classified as exceptional, the highest level in the monitor.
In addition, February is shaping up to be one of the warmest in the last 25 years in Hermosillo, with temperatures averaging +4ºC above normal.
GlobalMet meteorologist Jesús Antonio Juvero says that this pattern is unusual for this time of year and could be a sign of an unusually hot summer. In his ‘X’ account, under the name ClimaHillo, he detailed that high temperatures have prevailed over the last two weeks, causing a significant mismatch with historical weather standards for the month of February in the Sonoran capital:
“February this year is a clear example of how climatic variations affect the region.”
He also recalled that similar events occurred in 2014 and 2016, when February temperatures were also above normal.
However, these years have been followed by periods of abundant rainfall, which creates a great deal of uncertainty about the climate for the rest of the year, making it seem as if this could be an indication of what next summer might be like.
In the meantime, he says he will continue to monitor February’s behaviour in order to confirm or modify his forecasts for the season.
Jesús Antonio Juvera’s predictions suggest that the heatwave could last until the end of February, which could affect both the well-being of the people of Hermosillo and the city’s infrastructure.
Gilberto Lagarda Vázquez, a meteorology specialist at the Sonora State Water Commission, said that in the last few days temperatures have ranged from 24ºC to 29.5ºC.
For the coming week, the SMN predicts that maximum temperatures in Sonora could be between 30ºC and 35ºC, with lows between -5ºC and 0ºC in some mountainous areas of the state.
