El Niño and climate change are bringing record hurricanes to Mexico's Pacific coast

Key Points:

• Mexico’s Pacific coast is experiencing a record-breaking hurricane season, with ten hurricanes forming so far in 2023, the highest since 2018, causing widespread death and destruction across multiple states including Guerrero, Jalisco, and Baja California.
• Meteorologists attribute the increased frequency and intensity of storms to a powerful El Niño combined with warmer ocean temperatures driven by climate change, leading to longer-lasting storms with stronger winds.
• The latest storm, Hurricane Trudy, a Category 1 hurricane, threatened already saturated areas, prompting warnings of major damage and forcing residents to prepare for further impact amid ongoing recovery efforts from previous hurricanes.
• Communities along the coast report severe economic and social consequences, including loss of tourism, damaged infrastructure, and disrupted daily life, with many residents calling for greater government support and disaster declarations.
• Locals express growing concern that the unprecedented succession of severe hurricanes is a new normal linked to environmental imbalances caused by human activity, as they continue to rely heavily on neighborly support to cope with the ongoing crisis.