In just hours, Hurricane Delta grew from a tropical storm to a major hurricane, hitting the Yucatán peninsula with winds of 105 mph Wednesday morning, bringing a dangerous storm surge of eight to 12 feet.

While the famous beachside hotels of Cancún, Latin America’s most popular tourist destination, saw little damage apart from fallen trees and electrical poles, it’s the communities outside of the affluent tourist locations that must endure the most. 
 

Next, Hurricane Delta is projected to make its way toward the Louisiana coast.

It’s just the latest in a series of major storms, shaping up what is to become the busiest hurricane season in recorded history. Hurricane Delta will be the tenth named storm to directly hit the United States mainland. The last time such a frequency happened was back in 1916.

But this isn’t the only way 2020 has made headlines because of unprecedented weather patterns.

This year also tied a record for having three named storms form in 24 hours, reports the Orlando Sentinel. 2020‘s total number of named storms is also the most ever recorded in a season through the end of summer — far more than the devastation seen during 2005’s storm season. 
 

Temperature-wise, California experienced record-breaking heatwaves this summer. September was the hottest September ever after the world experienced never-before-seen temps in Europe, Australia, the middle east, and places like Death Valley. 

And the repercussions of this, have yet to be fully experienced. Especially not in Countries distanced from parts of the globe that are put at increasingly more risk. 

Places like, say, the Yucatán Peninsula, which year after year, see Hurricanes grow with more strength and consistency. 

It’s places like this that are affected the most, not only because of their position on the globe but also because of the lack of resources at their disposal. Climate change, a phenomenon caused by human activities has also altered the ancestral indigenous practices of native peoples in the Yucatán region.

Tamaulipas, Veracruz, and Tabasco, on the Gulf of Mexico which make up Mexico’s Atlantic coast, are home to the largest remaining tropical rainforest outside of the Amazon.

Yet it is unable to be protected because of human interference on multiple fronts. 

Climate change was only just a topic of discussion at a presidential debate for the first time since 2008. 

Unfortunately, it is only until climate change is at the doorstep of those in power until they can no longer ignore it, that our leaders will commit to action.