HomeNews
NewsWater in Mexico

Mexico starts 2026 with lowest drought levels in 6 years

MND Staff
By MND Staff
0
a stream of water in Mexico
The figure for Jan. 15 marks the lowest percentage since water authorities recorded a similar reading in January 2020 (7.2%). (Conagua)

Mexico began 2026 with its smallest drought footprint in six years. As of Jan. 15, only 7.4% of the country was experiencing some degree of drought — from moderate to exceptional — according to the Drought Monitor of the National Meteorological Service (SMN) and Conagua.

The figure marks the lowest percentage since water authorities recorded a similar reading in January 2020 (7.2%). Meanwhile, 13 states have overcome their most severe water shortage problems, mainly thanks to improved rainfall during the recent rainy season.

Mexico’s current drought status is striking compared to last year. By mid-January 2025, approximately 40% of the country was experiencing some degree of drought, while 15% faced extreme or exceptional conditions.

The most recent crisis point occurred on May 31, 2024, when nearly 76% of the country experienced moderate to exceptional drought.

States typically hit by drought — including Sonora, Chihuahua and Coahuila in the north, and Tabasco in the south — have seen moderate to severe drought conditions decrease. However, areas of the northeast, such as northern Tamaulipas, still report moderate to extreme drought.

Conagua attributed the improvement to a “very active” 2025 rainy and tropical cyclone season. Eight cyclones, along with 40 tropical waves and the North American Monsoon, helped reduce the drought that affected approximately 49% of the country as of May 15, 2025.

According to official data, rainfall was concentrated mainly in central, west-central, eastern and southern Mexico, as well as the Yucatán Peninsula.

Conagua also noted that by the end of the 2025 rainy season, national water storage reached 72%, up from 64% in 2024. More than 80 dams exceeded 100% of their ordinary maximum water level, including the Cutzamala System, which supplies water to Mexico City. Its storage reached 97%, compared to 67% the previous year.

Experts have warned that although 2025 brought relief, Mexico remains highly vulnerable to future droughts due to climate change, the variability of phenomena such as El Niño and La Niña and the overexploitation of water resources.

With reports from Noticias IMER and López Dóriga

Have something to say? Paid Subscribers get all access to make & read comments.
Hurt person who received medical care from the Mexican Red Cross at the Oct. 11 protest in Guadalajara demanding clean tap water

Protesters file complaints with Attorney General’s Office alleging torture at hands of Jalisco state police officers

MND Staff - 3
Officers are alleged to have physically and verbally abused dozens of demonstrators protesting foul tap water in Guadalajara on Oct. 11, later holding them for hours in dismal conditions and, in some cases, torturing them.
cempasúchil

With Day of the Dead less than a week away, Mexico City’s cempasúchil production hits record heights

MND Staff - 0
The Mexican marigold is an essential part of Day of the Dead traditions, as an adornment on altars, or, for those who take the dead's visitations literally, as a path of strewn petals leading the departed to the door.
Dinosaur footprints in Michoacán

Rural Michoacán residents lead researchers to previously undiscovered dinosaur footprints

MND Staff - 1
Though dinosaurs freely roamed what is now Mexico, footprint sites are not as common as one might think: there are only 30 nationwide. The newly discovered fossilized prints appear to be from three different species, one of which could turn out to be a tyrannosaur.
BETA Version - Powered by Perplexity

VIDEO OF THE WEEK