Hurricane Vance continued as a Category 2 storm in the Pacific Ocean, located 615 kilometers (382 miles) south-southwest of Acapulco, according to Mexico’s National Meteorological Service. The agency reported the storm’s position in an update as authorities continued to monitor its intensity and movement across the eastern Pacific. Vance’s distance from the coast and its projected trajectory remain key factors in assessing potential risks to coastal communities in southern and western Mexico.
Category 2 hurricanes have sustained winds of 154 to 177 kilometers per hour (96 to 110 miles per hour). They can cause damage to roofs, trees and power lines, depending on local conditions and the storm’s proximity to land. Heavy rainfall can pose risks even in areas that do not experience the strongest winds, particularly in regions vulnerable to flash floods and landslides. Authorities advise residents in potentially affected areas to follow official weather bulletins and emergency instructions as conditions evolve.
Mexico is regularly affected by tropical cyclones forming in the Pacific Ocean, particularly during the eastern Pacific hurricane season, which runs from May 15 to Nov. 30. The country’s meteorological authorities monitor these systems and issue regular updates on their strength, movement and potential effects. The storm’s development will determine whether additional precautions are needed along Mexico’s Pacific coastline.
Anadolu Agency gives a plain weather update on Hurricane Vance, with its position, wind ranges and safety advice. It presents the storm as a routine feature of the hurricane season and never says that warming makes intense tropical cyclones and heavy rainfall more likely. Other coverage of the same storm made that link.
Leaves out the climate link
Serious
“Mexico is regularly affected by tropical cyclones forming in the Pacific Ocean”
Why this matters
The words "regularly affected by tropical cyclones" present the hurricane as a normal seasonal event, and the article says nothing anywhere about climate change or warming.
The impression it gives
A reader comes away thinking Vance is just a routine storm of the season, with no connection to a warming climate.
The context
Human-caused warming has made intense tropical cyclones and heavy rainfall more frequent or more severe. The Independent's report on the same storm said this season's intense Pacific storms come as El Niño conditions are worsened by global warming.
How we know
On the recordThat warming has made hot extremes, heavy rainfall, agricultural and ecological drought, fire weather and intense tropical cyclones more frequent or more severe.ipcc.ch (opens in a new tab)
Mexico is regularly affected by tropical cyclones forming in the Pacific, and warming driven by burning fossil fuels is making intense storms and heavy rainfall like this more likely.