Heat Wave Ruled Out in Cuba

Havana, Jul 23 (Prensa Latina) The possibility of a heat wave in Cuba in the next few days was ruled out by a specialist from the Climate Center of the Meteorological Institute of the island, the daily Granma points out today.

The prevalence of very warm thermal sensations refers to particular atmospheric situations in mid-latitudes and continental zones, when temperatures reach values above 40 degrees Celsius, Ramon Perez, a researcher at the scientific institution, told the newspaper.

This reality, together with the prevailing low humidity, leads to the death of human beings from dehydration and other causes, he explained.

In particular, Cuba, due to its insular condition, makes such events improbable, as the sea breeze will always be a mitigating factor for not recording such extreme scenarios, to which is added the usual cooling of the atmosphere caused by the typical rains of summer afternoons, Perez added.

According to the expert, the heat wave concept depends not only on the behavior of the temperatures, but also on the impact they cause.

When comparing what happened in previous summers, he declared that in June there was no record of absolute maximum, while the monthly average was very close to the norm with an anomaly of 0.2 degrees Celsius below the usual.

Nor, he also added, in the first two decades of July there is any report of new primacy of maximum. The highest record registered to date is 37.3 degrees, in Veguitas, Granma, on the 17th, he commented.

During July of the 2015, 11 heat records were set, he recalled.

Although the current summer period in Cuba remains within the normal range, between 1951 and 2010 the average temperature at the stage increased by 0.8 degrees Celsius, which confirms the trend towards a warmer climate in this country, he warned.

This situation progressively leads us to extreme heat values over the years, but at least for now our insular condition protects us from the so-called waves, he concluded.