Climate change puts glaciers, coral reefs and the Amazon rainforest, considered vital systems in Latin America and the Caribbean, in an almost “critical” and “irreversible” situation, according to a report by the WMO (World Meteorological Organization) released last Friday. (22).
The WMO predicts deterioration in the area of natural ecosystems and populations, which will make harvests and the supply of water and food difficult.
“The worsening of climate change and the combined effects of the Covid-19 pandemic have not only affected the region’s biodiversity, but also held back decades of progress against poverty, food insecurity and the reduction of inequalities”, says Mario Cimoli, from ECLAC. (Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean).
An example of this is the effects of hurricanes Eta and Iota which, in 2020, together with the economic difficulties arising from the Covid pandemic, led 7.7 million people to a situation of food insecurity in 2021 in Guatemala, El Salvador and Nicaragua .
In addition, in recent years, hundreds of people have died or been displaced as a result of droughts, heat and cold waves, tropical cyclones and floods in Latin America and the Caribbean. The Andes, northeastern Brazil and the northern countries of Central America are some of the regions most sensitive to climate migration.
The WMO report analyzes the figures for 2021, among which the deforestation rate stands out, the highest since 2009, and the loss of more than 30% of the glacier surface in less than 50 years.
The temperature rise trend continues, following a growth rate of 0.2°C per decade between 1991 and 2021, double the rate recorded every ten years between 1961 and 1990.
The Paraná-Prata basin, in the central-west region of Latin America, suffered the impact of hurricanes for the sixth consecutive year. The report predicts that these phenomena could increase in Central America and the Caribbean.
In addition, sea levels have risen at a faster rate than in the rest of the world, threatening coastal populations with erosion, inundation of low-lying areas, increased storm surges, and aquifer contamination.
The extreme rains also reached historic levels and caused damage to homes, displacement and the death of hundreds of people, due to floods and landslides.
At the opposite extreme is water scarcity, due to shrinking glaciers and droughts. A loss of glacial area of 30% was recorded in the tropical Andes, 50% in Peru alone, compared to 1980.
Chile leads the water crisis in the region, due to the drought in the central area of the country, the longest in Latin America and the Caribbean in the millennium.
The WMO predicts that droughts will intensify in northeastern Brazil, the Amazon, Central America, the Caribbean and parts of Mexico.
Between 2020 and 2022, 175 disasters occurred in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to data from the United Nations Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNDRR). 88% of these events had meteorological, climatological or hydrological causes.
The WMO insists on the need for coordinated “science-based” action. “Climate services, end-to-end early warning systems and sustainable investments are needed, but they have not yet been properly implemented in the Latin American and Caribbean region,” the report says.
The study concludes that the impact of climate change in Latin America and the Caribbean affects the entire planet, mainly due to the decrease in the area of the Amazon forest, which in 2021 alone lost 22% of its vegetation.
“Continued degradation of the Amazon rainforest remains a major concern for both the region and the global climate, given the role the forest plays in the carbon cycle,” said WMO Secretary-General Petteri Taalas.
Agricultural markets around the world also suffered from reduced harvests, mainly of corn and soybeans, due to the drought in the Paraná-Prata basin. Between 2020 and 2021, the cereal crop fell by 2.6% in Latin America.
