It Already Smells Like Wet Land

With the fall of the first drops of water in some high areas of Puerto Vallarta, in neighborhoods such as Ramblases and Jardines, we could perceive the arrival of the rainy season in our region. We began to feel the petricor, that characteristic smell of the first rains after a long period of drought; a term coined in 1994 by geologist Isabel Bear.

Although petricor is a mixture of odors of plant oils impregnated in the rocks and soil, ozone and rainwater, what predominates is geosmin, a substance that is produced by a particular bacterium; Streptomyces coelicolor, of such great importance for medicine, that the results of the latest studies published in scientific journals such as NATURE, point to antibiotics and antifungals.

Every May 15, San Isidro Labrador is celebrated in many towns of our country, date on which most Catholic farmers congregate to pray for a fruitful storm and good harvests; for many believers this day it is very likely to rain.

This time the religious forecast failed for one day, however, for the parishioners the presence of clouds and drizzle is welcomed as a message from their patron saint that this will be a good year.

This date also marked the official start of the hurricane season, as indicated by CONAGUA (National Water Commission) this season will be more active, since according to the Meteorological Service of the same agency an increase of approximately 30 percent more than in previous years is estimated.

The presence of the phenomenon called NIÑO is expected, in this sense CONAGUA itself has just issued its communiqué number 370, dated: Mexico City, May 17, 2023, 4:00 p.m., on the Status of El Niño - Southern Oscillation (ENSO).

The diagnosis of the Federal agency specifies that since February 2023 an expansion of sea surface temperatures (SST) above average has been observed in the Pacific Ocean. Atmospheric conditions: winds with anomalies in their speed and direction, as well as anomalies in radiation in the center of the Equatorial Pacific, China, Japan, Indonesia, the Philippines and in central and southern regions of Mexico.

The official forecast is that there is a 90 percent probability that the phenomenon will develop during the months of May and June and extend into the winter season, which means that heavy rains are expected and therefore flooding risks.