Massive droughts, melting glaciers and deforestation raging in Latin America and the Caribbean – Global issues

In it Climate status in Latin America and the Caribbean 2021, World Meteorological Organization (WMO) highlights far-reaching impacts on ecosystems, food and water security, human health and poverty.

“The report shows that hydrometeorological hazards, including droughts, heat waves, cold waves, tropical cyclones and floods, have unfortunately resulted in the loss of hundreds of people and severe damage to production. export crops and infrastructure and relocate people,” WMO Secretary General Petteri told Taalas.

Climate change is getting worse…[has] decades of stalled progress – ECLAC

Retreat on the glacier

Climate change is threatening critical systems in the regionalready close to critical conditions, potentially causing irreversible damage.

The report reveals that since the 1980s, glaciers in the tropical Andes have lost 30% or more of their area – with a negative mass balance trend over the 1990-2020 track period.

In Peru, some have lost more than 50% of their area.

Glacier retreat and corresponding loss of ice mass increase the risk of water scarcity for people in the Andes and its ecosystems.

“For many Andean cities, Melting glaciers represent the loss of a significant source of fresh water currently being used for domestic purposes, irrigation and hydroelectricity,” said the head of WMO.

Deforestation and dangerous rain

According to the report, deforestation in Brazil’s Amazon rainforest has doubled from the 2009-2018 average and reached its highest level since 2009.

Last year, about 22 percent more forest was lost than the previous year – a blow for both the environment and climate change mitigation.

“In South America, the continued degradation of the Amazon rainforest is still being highlighted as a major concern for the region as well as for the global climate, given the role it plays,” said the top WMO official. forests in the carbon cycle.

Meanwhile, Record rainfall last year caused floods and landslides Hundreds of people were killed, tens of thousands of homes destroyed or damaged, and hundreds of thousands displaced.

The floods and landslides in the Brazilian states of Bahia and Minas Gerais alone resulted in an estimated $3.1 billion in damage.

Sea level rise

Sea level in the region is rising at a faster rate than elsewhere around the world, especially along the Atlantic coast of South America south of the equator, and the subtropical North Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico.

Rising sea levels contaminate freshwater aquifers, erode coastlines, inundate low-lying areas, and increase the risk of storm surge, threatening coastal populations.

“Increasing sea level rise and ocean warming are expected to continue to affect coastal livelihoods, tourism, health, food, energy and water resources,” warned Mr. Taalas. , especially in small islands and Central American countries.

Drought

In South America as a whole, drought conditions led to a 2.6% decline in the 2020-2021 grain harvest compared with the previous season, the report said.

And the so-called Mega Drought in Central Chile, which has lasted for 13 years, is longest drought in the region in a thousand years.

In addition, a multi-year drought in the Parana-La Plata basin, the worst since 1944, is affecting south-central Brazil and parts of Paraguay and Bolivia.

The agricultural damage it has caused, such as reduced soybean and corn production, has affect the global crop market.

Progress against poverty has stalled

Mario Cimoli of the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean said: “Climate change is getting worse…it has not only impacted the region’s biodiversity, but has also hindered decades of progress in combating it. poverty, food insecurity and reducing inequality in the region” (ECLAC).

The report outlines how extreme weather will continue to adversely affect human health and natural ecosystems, which can inform climate policy and decision-making.

“No matter how it is photographed, Action must be informed by science‘ he emphasized.