Weather

Ex-Pats in Mexico bracing for a strong storm. One of the benefits of Panama

https://weather.com/storms/hurricane/video/strong-hurricane-norma-set-to-hit-mexico   I have a friend that is currently living in La Paz; Mexico and they will be bracing for a Hurricane this weekend. With the US economy treating non wealthy Americans like shit, expect places like Panama, Mexico, Belize, and Costa Rica to yearly on a consistent basis see …

Environmental

Florida has to assess damage after Hurricane hits west coast of the state.

https://www.laestrella.com.pa/internacional/america/230831/florida-evalua-danos-paso-idalia-avanza-sudeste-ee-uu My family luckily avoided a hit from this storm as it passed Southern part of the state. But every year fingers are crossed. To all PNO Ex-Pats that might have been affected, heres hoping all get back to normal soon.  Florida began this Thursday, August 31, to assess the …

Weather

Bad weather something to get used to.

The Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology of Panama (Imhpa) announced that from this Monday, May 29 to Wednesday, May 31, Panama will be affected by the first tropical wave of the year. According to Imhpa’s analysis, the tropical wave will generate rain and storms until 11:59 p.m. this Wednesday, May …

Environmental

50 countries come together for Natural Disaster plans.

The number of recorded disasters has increased fivefold – partly due to climate change caused by human activities and the multiplication of extreme weather events – and everything indicates that this trend will continue. Half of the world’s countries do not have early warning systems, and even fewer have regulatory …

Environmental

24 hrs after battering, CUBA dealing with Hurricane Ian aftermath.

https://www-laestrella-com-pa.translate.goog/internacional/america/220928/dia-ian-habana-hay-luz-agua-queda-seguir?_x_tr_sl=es&_x_tr_tl=en&_x_tr_hl=en&_x_tr_pto=sc An entire family collects water from the sea with buckets to clean their precarious home in front of Havana’s boardwalk, heavily impacted by the passage of Hurricane Ian on Tuesday afternoon. “From two o’clock the sea began to pour in. All this was covered (points to the avenue). We …

Environmental

Welcome to the WET season. Navigating Panama is horrible during the rain.

http://elsiglo.com.pa/panama/aguacero-inicia-transicion-estacion-seca-lluviosa-panama/24197695 The rainy season will be brought forward 10 days in Western Chiriquí, central Veraguas, Coclé and western Herrera and Los Santos This Tuesday, April 5, the city of Panama woke up with a downpour, which is part of the transition process from the dry to the rainy season in …

Human Interest

Nasty weather has given time to catch up on e-mails. Op-Eds flowing in.

Anyone who has been away and moved back after a long absence can certainly feel some culture shock, When last here, it literally felt like “escaping” back home due to the Covid travel embargoes that we were dealing with. Then to come back home and have a medical setback, mage …

Weather

Panama braces for a scorching March. Glad I’m not there.

In addition to the water issues in San Francisco, it appears March is set to be the hottest for Panama in all of 2022. Not missing that at all. https://www.laestrella.com.pa/cafe-estrella/planeta/220303/marzo-sera-mes-mas-caluroso-ano-etesa From now on, everything indicates that March will be the hottest month of the year 2022, according to the latest …

Conservation

More Panama perspective on Climate change. Ex-Pats take notice.

https://www.prensa.com/impresa/vivir/el-ascenso-de-los-mares/ A year ago I wrote an article in La Prensa warning about the future impacts of sea level rise in Panama. I used a playful analogy about the fact that the Isthmus of Panama emerged from the sea 3 million years ago, and that, with the current climate change, the sea will …

"JB"

Don’t get me started on this Hurricane shit!!!!!

by James “JB” Bryson Let me begin by saying that I am very at ease in knowing that Hurricane Dorian has taken a northern approach and seems to be steering clear of Southern Florida where my daughter and son in law live. The past few days have been filled with …

"JB"

PNO focused on family as Hurricane strengthens.

OP ED: “JB” – We have family in both South Florida as well as the Bahamas, so my posts have been a bit lax the past few days. One of the major benefits we took into consideration when not following many friends to either Florida or other locations to retire, …

Environmental

Climate Change Denial Club: UPDATE. Get your scuba tank ready!!

http://laestrella.com.pa/vida-cultura/planeta/calor-dispara-temperaturas-acelera-deshielo-groenlandia/24133099 The heat wave coming to the Arctic after its passage through Europe has caused record temperatures and an acceleration of the thaw in Greenland in recent days, a phenomenon that experts relate to climatic oscillations.  The Danish Meteorological Institute (DMI) station at Summit, in the center of the permanent …

US News of note

Ex-Pats from the South have keen eye on Hurricane Barry.

https://www.cnn.com/us/live-news/tropical-storm-barry-saturday-2019-intl/index.html Barry made landfall this afternoon in Louisiana as a Category 1 hurricane, before being downgraded into a tropical storm. The system is now crawling north-northwest at 7 mph, brining extended downfalls that could prompt heavy flooding to the area. Here’s what you need to know about the storm: Where …

Energy/Infrastructure

MAY numbers are in. 9 of 10 hottest Months in history have occurred since 2010.

In recent years, May has been hotter than in more than a century. Earth and the world’s oceans combined to reach 15.63 degrees Celsius in the month just ended, or 1.67 degrees above the 20th century average, the National Centers for Environmental Information said in a statement on Tuesday. That …

Air Travel

TRAVEL ADVISORY: Air quality in Mexico City deemed extraordinarily dangerous.

Authorities of Mexico City and its metropolitan area declared an extraordinary environmental risk on Tuesday due to high levels of pollution , which implies the restriction to vehicular traffic and the reprogramming of a semifinal game of the Mexican soccer tournament. The measures come amid complicated weather conditions and numerous …

Environmental

Other countries had chance to see rare “Blood Moon” yesterday, next is not until 2021

A series of unusual celestial circumstances coincided on Sunday night to hide the Moon that then reappeared dressed in a faint red in a total eclipse that captivated observers in the Americas, Europe and Africa. In Mexico and Los Angeles, from Paris to Uarzazat, the eyes settled on the sky …

US News of note

EX-PAT ADVISORY- Check on loved ones in the US as deadly Hurricane approaches Eastern coastline

“Go now!”: The United States authorities implored on Wednesday, September 12, to leave the risk areas before the arrival of Hurricane Florence, which threatens to hit the east coast of the country in the next 48 hours with the power of a punch by Mike Tyson. + info East Coast …

Energy/Infrastructure

Panama City infrastructure succumbs to flooding in even light rainfall; Upgrade mandatory

Last June 10 it rained less than an hour in the district of Panama and several points of the city were flooded. Among them: Ricardo J. Alfaro avenue in front of Cochez, Domingo Díaz avenue, San Antonio and Don Bosco, in addition to Balboa Avenue, in front of Urracá Park, …

Weather

WARNING: Severe rain and flooding in Panama City from Electrical storms

The city of Panama woke up this Monday with heavy rains with electrical activity, temporary that is monitored by the National System of Civil Protection (Sinaproc), who ask citizens to take precautions. Up to now, floods have been recorded in Panama City, El Ingenio, El Carmen Church, Vía Porras, Tumba …

Energy/Infrastructure

AdaptAmericas in Panama leads forum on climate change

The consequences of climate change have given rise to initiatives that turn situations of risk into opportunities in areas such as transport, water management and construction. In Canada, for example, the Pievc Protocol has been extended, which estimates infraestrategy vulnerability to environmental threats. It is a decision-making tool that assesses …

Weather

NOAA hurricane plane coming to Panama

A study by Colorado State University (CSU) in the United States, carried out by meteorologists Philip J. Klotzbach and Michael M. Bell, warns that the 2018 hurricane season in the Atlantic ‘will have slightly higher than average activity’ . According to climate specialists, it is likely that the current weak …

Infrastructure

Guna Yala threatened by climate change

The natives of the island Cartí Sugdup , in the archipelago of  Guna Yala – known worldwide as San Blas -, northeast of the province of Panama, are enlisting fear and hope to move to the mainland and become the first indigenous settlement in America Latina reassured by climate change …

Panama Tourism

Climate Change affecting Latin American hemisphere, and potential tourism

“Here was my business,” said Julio Rodriguez standing in the sand. At the point that marked his feet was a local wood in which since the 90’s offered packages of excursions to tourists. In 2006, he looked at the turquoise water of the Arena Gorda beach 25 meters away from …