Temperatures are expected to be 1 to 2 degrees Celsius warmer than usual along the northern Pacific coast and in the Central Valley this month, according to the National Metereological Institute.
The rise in temperatures is linked to El Niño, a warm equatorial current in the Pacific that leads to abnormally warm, dry weather in Central American countries.
Institute meteorologist Berny Fallas said global warming might be a factor – but that it is difficult to say for sure.
“Right now, global warming is having the greatest effect on temperate zones of the planet, but we can say that in the past few years, temperatures have risen almost a half-degree throughout the world,” Fallas told the daily La Nación.
Last month, temperatures rose to near 10-year highs in San José, cresting at 28 degrees Celsius Feb. 13, with bright sun and scorching dry conditions.
The following week, strong winds and rain rushed in from the Caribbean, adding another strange weather occurrence to a growing list.
According to meteorologist Rosario Alfaro, such unusual weather phenomena, including a potential delay in the onset of the rainy season in the Central Valley, are typical of an El Niño year.
