Rolling blackouts occurred in several cities across Mexico on Tuesday, as people in several states reeled from rising temperatures and the national energy authority briefly declared a state of emergency.
A heat wave has ravaged Mexico in recent days, sending temperatures in several states into triple digits. Mexico City reached its peak on Tuesday 92 degrees Fahrenheit, the hottest temperature recorded there on May 7 in more than 20 years.
The Mexican energy authority, Cenace, announced a state of emergency for the national grid on Tuesday evening, meaning available power has fallen below adequate levels. Less than an hour later he said the system was back to normal.
But local media reported blackouts in municipalities across the country throughout the evening. Social media users uploaded photos and videos of darkened city skylines.
Local officials have confirmed several blackouts in the state of Mexico, including in San Mateo Atenco AND Metepec, near Mexico City. And during a blackout in the city of Nuevo Laredo, near the Texas border, they the people asked to avoid driving.
In a declaration, the national energy agency attributed Tuesday afternoon's electricity shortage to a number of factors, including a decline in wind and solar power generation. Some power plants were also offline at that time. The statement does not mention the heat wave.
An increase in overnight demand subsequently prompted power outages across Mexico, the agency said. Electricity was gradually restored starting around 8pm, in a process that is expected to last until 11pm
Mexico has experienced blackouts in the past, including during extreme weather events, such as hurricanes or heat waves. During power outages across the country last June, local officials reported hundreds of heat-related deaths, even as federal and state governments underestimated them.
