Q COSTA RICA — The high temperatures caused by El Niño in Costa Rica are already generating concern in the health sector, as the temperature increase of up to 2°C in the North Pacific region could continue for the next few months and extend into the dry season of 2027, with potential impact on the health of children, the elderly, and people with chronic illnesses.
The national weather service, the Instituto Meteorológico Nacional (IMN), detailed that the Central Valley, the Central Pacific, the South Pacific, and part of the Northern Zone will experience increases of between 1°C and 1.5°C. In the North Pacific, the rise will reach 2°C above the usual average.
Dr. Marco Gómez, an internist and professor at the Universidad Hispanoamericana, explained that even a seemingly minor increase in temperature can exacerbate heat stress and lead to health problems if preventive measures are not taken.
Heatstroke, the most serious complication, can result in multiple organ failure and death if the body is not cooled quickly.
Constant hydration is essential to prevent complications.
Gómez emphasized that waiting until you feel thirsty is not advisable, as it indicates that the body has already begun to lose water. Therefore, he recommended drinking fluids regularly throughout the day, especially when engaging in outdoor activities, where it is ideal to drink a glass of water every 15 to 20 minutes.
Specific Risks and Recommendations for the Public
Direct sun exposure between 10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. increases the risk of heat exhaustion and heatstroke. Experts suggest avoiding these hours, seeking shade, wearing light clothing, and applying sunscreen.
Children, the elderly, and pets should not be left inside closed vehicles.
Nutritionist Yorleny Chacón, director of the School of Nutrition at the Universidad Hispanoamericana, recommended drinking two liters of water daily, distributed throughout the day.
For those who don’t enjoy plain water, she suggested adding mint, spearmint, or lemon slices. She advised against sugary drinks or electrolyte solutions for people with diabetes because they can disrupt blood glucose control.
Outdoor workers and athletes are another at-risk group due to the accelerated loss of water and electrolytes in the heat. In patients with kidney disease, increased temperature can impair kidney function. In those with diabetes or hypertension, dehydration can be exacerbated by the characteristics of these conditions or by medications.
Heatstroke: Symptoms and Urgent Responses
Not all heat-related conditions are equally severe. Gómez differentiated between dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke, the latter being the most severe.
The appearance of symptoms such as confusion, high fever, hot and dry skin, or loss of consciousness requires immediate medical intervention and rapid cooling measures: move the person to a cool place, remove excess clothing, and apply cold compresses to the neck, armpits, and groin, according to Dr. Gómez.
A common mistake is assuming that the risk decreases by being in the water. The specialist warned that many people spend hours in pools or at beaches without adequately hydrating, believing that the feeling of coolness is enough to protect them.
Also not recommended is the use of alcoholic or energy drinks to hydrate, nor to expose oneself to the sun for prolonged periods for cosmetic purposes.
The El Niño phenomenon requires strengthening prevention efforts and modifying habits to avoid serious health complications in the face of extreme temperatures.
What is El Niño?
El Niño is characterized by unusually warm ocean temperatures in the Equatorial Pacific. El Niño is the warm phase of a natural climate pattern known as the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), characterized by an abnormal warming of surface waters in the central and eastern Pacific Ocean.
This change disrupts the balance of the trade winds, which usually blow from east to west, weakening them or even reversing their direction. As a result, temperatures and rainfall patterns are drastically altered on a global scale.
This phenomenon recurs irregularly in cycles of two to seven years, and its direct effects typically last between nine and twelve months. Its historical name comes from fishermen in Peru and Ecuador, who noticed unusually warm currents around Christmas time, associating the event with the Christ Child.
The impact of El Niño does not manifest itself in the same way everywhere, but rather generates extreme and opposing climatic conditions depending on the geography.
In Central America, a reduction in rainfall, marked increases in temperature and prolonged droughts predominate, particularly affecting the agricultural and water supply sectors.