Climate Change in Mexico

Global

Where else in the world is experiencing a similar form of climate change?

Rainforest Trust is raising $64,592 to protect 870 acres of habitat for three critically endangered salamanders in a cloud forest!

Surrounding Region

870

"Of Mexico's cloud forest could vanish by 2080 because of climate change"

68%

Marine heatwaves have negatively impacted Mexican fisheries. Fisheries conserve habitats and catch seafood for humans to eat. This study observed a large reduction in aggregate landings (the total weight/quantity of fish caught) in times of intense heatwaves.

Impact on Marine Life:

How climate change has impacted this beautiful country

Mexico

Citations

Impact on Land Ecosystems & Animals:

"In 2013, a large MHW [Marine heatwave] in the northeast Pacific appeared off the coast of Alaska and subsequently expanded south to Baja California." This heatwave was nicknamed the "Blob" and affected various ecosystems on its journey.

"32% of Peruvian endemic vertebrates are localized in cloud forests." Cloud forests are the "most endangered of all tropical forest types" with deforestation, wood harvesting, resource logging, agriculture, and climate change threatening them.

Ponce-Reyes, R., Reynoso-Rosales, VH., Watson, J. et al. Vulnerability of cloud forest reserves in Mexico to climate change. Nature Clim Change 2, 448–452 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/nclimate1453

Citations:

Protecting a Unique Cloud Forest in Veracruz, Mexico. Rainforest Trust. (2024, January 18). https://www.rainforesttrust.org

Villaseñor-Derbez, J.C., Arafeh-Dalmau, N. & Micheli, F. Past and future impacts of marine heatwaves on small-scale fisheries in Baja California, Mexico. Commun Earth Environ 5, 623 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-024-01696-x

Cheung, W.W.L., Frölicher, T.L. Marine heatwaves exacerbate climate change impacts for fisheries in the northeast Pacific. Sci Rep 10, 6678 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-63650-z

Still, C., Foster, P. & Schneider, S. Simulating the effects of climate change on tropical montane cloud forests. Nature 398, 608–610 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1038/19293

"Climate models predict an increase in the frequency and intensity of exposure to marine heatwaves for all fisheries." This can be seen in the following graphs, which depict current/past heatwaves and the abnormalities.

Marine Heatwaves

Fig. 1: TURF-based benthic fisheries along the Baja California Peninsula

This map color-codes the "maximum annual cumalative marine heatwave intensity" for various fisheries.

Fig. 2: Time series of landings by species

The left panel shows the "total normalized landings" and the "total landings" through time, whereas the right panel shows a "time series of anomalies in total annual landings by species."

The Rainforest Trust Organization is attempting to save the Tropical Montane Cloud Forest, which is the "country's most biodiverse vegetation type." This forest has "a high rate of plant, amphibian, reptilian, and avian endemism."

Efforts to Combat the Situation:

Unfortunately, "tropical montane cloud forests are among the most vulnerable terrestrial ecosystems to climate change." Although 12% of these forests are protected in Mexico, scientists are unsure if this is enough to save the ecosystem from climate change. But all hope is not lost. If the country took immediate action to expand the protected area, they could minimize the loss. This article advocates for the protection of Sierra de Juárez in Oaxaca.

Mexico's Cloud Forests

Heatwaves: "Marine heatwaves (MHWs) have occurred in all ocean basins with severe negative impacts on coastal and ocean ecosystems."

Global Effects of Climate Change:

Tropical Montane Cloud Forests: The combination of "reduced cloud contact" and "increased evapo-transpiration" due to climate change could have very important conservation implications.

Surrounding Region

A cloud forest acts like an enormous sponge, which means that the "absorption capacity" is lost when the forest is lost. This can negatively impact the surrounding region, since it'll no longer be protected by the "sponge" and will instead be faced with "rapid runoff, flash flooding, and landslides."