It was barely past 10 in the morning and the
temperature reached 27°;
The thermal sensation is already 29°
.
"Today is also going to be an oven";
predicts the lifeguard in a conversation from board to board, at a time when the sea (and his companions) allow him to run the odd wave, nice, but no more than a meter because the sea "is small": the true wave, which arrived to these shores with the force of a whirlwind, here is sun and heat.
Before noon, the thermometer reads 31°.
The thermal is 33°
.
The clouds appear from time to time like a whitish soot in the clear sky.
Without flip flops you cannot walk the beach, except on the shore where it is wet;
The sand burns under your feet.
Blowing at only 4 kilometers, it can be said that there is no wind.
There is no data yet, because the National Institute of Fisheries Research and Development (Inidep) records the sea surface temperature and publishes an average for the past month.
That is to say, the number will be known in the coming days.
However, anyone who has ever entered these waters after gathering courage after the first contact, these days will notice the anomaly: the water is warm.
The heat has not eased for more than ten days, and at these times, the National Meteorological Service, through its early warning system, maintains a
"yellow alert" for Mar del Plata,
which has a mild to moderate effect on health.
"Temperatures can be dangerous, especially for risk groups, such as boys and girls, people over 65 years of age, with chronic diseases," he says.
It is the same for the rest of the coast to the north and south to Necochea.
Without going through orange, the alert for Monte Hermoso and the Tres Arroyos coast goes directly to "red", meaning that the temperatures there can have a high to extreme effect on health.
"Very dangerous. They can affect all people, even healthy ones
," maintains the SMN.
With the update of the records at 2:00 p.m., when in
Mar del Plata the temperature was 32°9, in Monte Hermoso it was 37°
.
On those beaches, a maximum temperature of 41°
is expected for this Wednesday .
So far in 2024, the hottest day in this city was recorded on Tuesday, with 34°4 at 1:40 p.m.
Today that index could be exceeded, and if not, it will happen in the coming days since the SMN predicts maximums of 35° for next Monday and Tuesday.
Rains?
Maybe tomorrow there will be a brief period of instability in the afternoon;
in the middle of the dog days, barely a relief.
Tourist sector operators usually end their predictions about each moment of the season with a phrase, actually an expression of wish, to which they leave everything else subject: "As long as the weather is good," they close.
Although it had a rough start, with a sequence that consisted of three days of beach and heat and a fourth with a sudden storm in the afternoon (one of them very strong, left two dead - a teenager and a woman from 65 years, crushed by trees - and multiple damages in Miramar), the January weather ended up settling in.
So much so that
it hasn't rained for more than ten days,
and the heat doesn't let up.
That is to say, the tempo "accompanied", but
it was not enough for the season's numbers to close better
.
There was a drop in all areas, with the hotel industry "working downwards";
gastronomy "at moderate levels, even weak, well below other years";
commerce with dissimilar declines in sales, depending on the sector, but always down, and the spas - data from the chamber that brings them together -, despite the harsh sun, rented less shade, worked between 30% and 40% less than last year.
There are few midweek tourists, and many from Mar del Plata who, in their free time (before or after work; in the afternoon, those who have short hours), unfailingly, spend a few hours on the beach to enjoy this tremendous sun that, it is known , will continue to support February.
Mar del Plata. Correspondent
MG