Historic Low: Felipe Carrillo Puerto Records 4.2 Degrees Celsius in Quintana Roo

Felipe Carrillo Puerto, Mexico — The town of Felipe Carrillo Puerto in Quintana Roo has recorded a historic low temperature of 4.2 degrees Celsius, the coldest ever documented in the state, according to meteorologists.

Luis Antonio Morales Ocaña, a meteorologist with the Civil Protection, Risk Prevention, and Fire Department of Playa del Carmen, confirmed there is no precedent for such low temperatures in the region, where previous minimums had been around 8 degrees. He stated that if no lower temperature occurs this season, the National Water Commission (Conagua) will officially recognize this record at its next meteorology meeting.

“We have reported an abrupt drop that now puts human life and living beings at risk. We have no antecedent like this in a year that will go down in the history of minimum temperatures,” Morales Ocaña explained.

Yesterday marked one of the coolest dawns on record in this part of the country, with minimum temperatures similar to those in temperate climate zones. For comparison, Mexico City recorded a low of 7 degrees Celsius on Monday, February 2, meaning the Maya zone was colder than the national capital—an unusual occurrence. Other areas like Playa del Carmen, Chetumal, and José María Morelos registered 9 degrees, while Cancún saw 13 degrees.

Morales Ocaña attributed the unusual season to a polar vortex breakdown, which has allowed a cold air mass to reach nearly the equator, something never seen before. He explained this is related to the planet’s weakening force that typically confines polar air masses to the polar caps, but due to its decline, these masses have moved into tropical areas like now.

“This is not over yet. We are facing a season that is expected to last until mid-March, already into spring, in a time when the seasons are well-defined,” the specialist added.

In the long term, due to this meteorological anomaly, the hurricane season is expected to start late because the Atlantic Ocean’s temperature will take longer to rise to ideal conditions for tropical cyclone formation.