Intended Nacional Determined Contribution

Mexico’s geographical characteristics and the adverse social conditions suffered by some sectors of the population make it one of the most vulnerable countries to the adverse impacts of climate change. In just over 100 years, both land and sea surface temperatures have increased across the country, however in certain areas in the north of the country these changes have been greater, oscillating between 1.2 and 1.5° C beyond the historical average (Figure 1). This observed warming trend has been accompanied by an increased number of extremely warm days and the decrease of extremely cold days and freeze-overs. An increasing number of extreme hydrometeorological phenomena should be noted, like tropical cyclones and hurricanes. Between 1970 and 2013, 22 cyclones of category 3 or higher on the Saffir-Simpson scale affected both the Pacific and Atlantic Mexican coasts, 10 of which happened in the last 12 years (Map 1). In the case of droughts, there have been five important events so far in this century: between 2000 and 2003, in 2006, between 2007 and 2008, in 2009 and between 2010 and 2012. In some cases, the drought has been so severe that it has affected substantial portions of the country, such as in 2011 when it affected 90% of the territory. The sea level has risen in many coastal zones of Mexico during the period 1901-2010, going from 17 to 21 centimeters. Of 17 sites monitored in the Gulf of Mexico and the Pacific Ocean between the fifties and 2000, important sea level rising has been observed in Ciudad Madero, Tamaulipas (with sea level rising 9.16 mm per year) and Guaymas, Sonora (4.23 mm per year).