Humidity, wind, the amount of shade, what building materials/techniques are used in the area, and a number of other factors all do definitely play a part in how dangerous the heat is, and I admit I didn’t dive too deep into it.

I do know that Mexico City was basically built over a lake, so I imagine that the humidity would be fairly high, though right now the weather forecasts I’m seeing don’t look too bad humidity-wise, less humid than where I am, but of course a snapshot of a week or so doesn’t really say anything about the overall climate.

I never really had an excuse to look into temperature data in Mexico and I’m honestly a little surprised by some of the numbers

It looks like Mexico City is likey to have temperatures of about 35c (95F for Americans like myself) Which does seem like it will be their all time highest recorded temperature there.

I knew they’re at a pretty high elevation, but I guess I kind of figured Mexico=hot and that even their relatively cooler areas would be roughly on par with the high temperatures I’m used to here in Pennsylvania.

Because 95, while still a pretty damn hot day, isn’t exactly news-making around here (this early in the year it definitely would be, but in general it would be a little bit unusual if we don’t hit that temperature at least once or twice over the summer, even 100+ isn’t unheard of.)

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not trying to downplay the situation they’re experiencing, 95 is absolutely the kind of temperature that can kill people if they don’t have the infrastructure to escape the heat, and they don’t because the temperatures aren’t supposed to get that hot there. I’m more pointing out my own ignorance of Mexican climate.

I have no real firsthand experience making syrup, but one of my scout leaders years ago used to make his own so I picked up some bits and pieces from him.

When it comes out of the tree, it’s very watery, I’ve never had the chance to try it myself but I’m told that it’s very refreshing, and I believe it’s actually lower in sugar than something like coconut water.

Then you boil it down to concentrate it into a syrup.

And as I understand it, that’s pretty much it, I suspect at some point it maybe goes through a sieve or a filter of some kind to catch any particulates that might be in there.

I don’t know if it’s a common practice, but my scout leader had also rigged up a reverse osmosis system to cut down on how long he needed to boil it. Normally with a RO system, it puts out clean water and you throw away the concentrated waste product, but in his case the “waste” is what he wants, not quite syrup, but more concentrated maple water that requires less boiling to make syrup.

I admit I only skimmed the article, and I haven’t been keeping up with the day to day goings on over there, but off the top of my head even if there is a ceasefire in effect I can think of a couple reasons they might still be doing it

They want the ceasefire extended, or are prepping for another ceasefire further down the line after things resume

General raising awareness

They believe one or both sides aren’t holding up their end of the ceasefire agreement and want to hold them accountable

They’ve now pivoted to the next issue regarding the conflict, like what can be done with the time the ceasefire has bought, what the next steps should be after it ends, how to bring about an end to the war, what should happen after the war, etc.

I suppose he could call for another crusade or maybe dispatch the Swiss Guard to the region. /S

Somewhat more seriously, though not something I’m actually suggesting or would necessarily want to see, he is a head of state and a prominent public figure, it wouldn’t be out of the question for him to play a role in some sort of negotiations as an intermediary or something.

He also has the ears of potentially every Catholic in the world, as well as non-catholics who may want to hear his perspective, and while I’d personally very much rather the church mind their own business and not get involved, he could potentially give guidance to them about how they should feel about the situation, what they can/should or should not do to help, what they should be asking of their governments, etc.

Again, I personally would rather the church keep out of it, but those are some options available should people feel that the Pope should involve himself.