23
Climate Services for Coping with Climate
Change, Drought, and Extreme Heat in the
México-U.S. Border Region
Gregg Garfin, Sarah LeRoy, Meredith Muth, Hunter
Jones, Martín Ibarra Ochoa, Jorge Luis Vázquez
Aguirre, Mark Shafer, David Brown, Juan Saldaña
Colín, Gilberto Velázquez Angulo, and María Lourdes
Romo Aguilar
Summary
Climate change poses challenges for northern México and the
southern United States, including drought, extreme heat, and
flooding. To aid society in preparing for climate- and weather-
related risks, partners in the North American Climate Services
Partnership have initiated several collaborations. These partners
currently produce the Rio Grande|Bravo Climate Impacts and
Outlook, a monthly bulletin of seasonal climate assessments and
forecasts for temperature, precipitation, drought, and wildfire,
including the río Conchos region. The partners initiated a pilot
heat-health initiative in the cities of El Paso, Texas, Ciudad
Júarez, Chihuahua, and Las Cruces, New Mexico, for the National
Integrated Heat Health Information System. Extreme heat affects
these border cities, and climate models project more frequent and
hotter regional heat waves. The initiative has brought together
climatologists, public health researchers and practitioners, and
urban planners, to improve preparedness and responses to
extreme heat. Participants are currently developing information
