Mexico

Mexico country profile

BACKGROUND

Mexico is an upper middle-income country located in the southern portion of North America. It borders the United States, Guatemala, Belize, the Pacific Ocean, and the Gulf of Mexico on its west and east coasts, respectively. Mexico has a highly varied topography, climate, and biodiversity. Home to the 12th largest forest area worldwide and considered a "mega-diverse" country, it contains 60 - 70 percent of all known biological diversity on earth, representing 12 percent of the world's total. It is divided into temperate and tropical climate zones. The northern and central parts of the country are arid and semi-arid, while the mountains and coastal plains of the Pacific, the Gulf of Mexico, and the northeastern part of the Yucatan are sub-humid. Mexico’s weather is strongly influenced by El Niño events, which are more likely to bring Pacific hurricanes. El Niño brings relatively cool, wet weather to Mexico in the winter, followed by hotter and drier conditions in the summer.

The country’s location between two oceans and complex topography increases the country’s exposure to extreme hydro-meteorological events such as tropical cyclones, frosts, heatwaves, and floods.  It is also vulnerable to wildfires, volcanic activity, landslides, and drought.

Mexico still faces challenges to poverty reduction and protection of natural resources. Despite economic growth, inequality and poverty raim high and are concentrated among rural and Indigenous populations whose food security and livelihoods are climate-sensitive.

INFORM RISK INDEX (2022)    

Hazard and exposure: 6.9  |  Vulnerability: 3.9  |  Lack of coping capacity: 4.5 |  Total: 4.9 (medium)  |  Rank: 45

HAZARDS COVERED BY ANTICIPATION    

Population movement | Riverine floods | Cyclone/Typhoon/Hurricane | Other (Water contamination) | Cold waves

EXPERIENCE ON ANTICIPATION 

• Start Network is very active in Mexico, having allocated funding through the Start Fund a number of times since 2017. In 2019 it activated an anticipatory alert for extremely cold temperatures. £249,568 was financed to CADENA on the ground.