Climate Disasters in Latin America Threaten Global Food Security
Deforestation in the Amazon rainforest is also on the rise, according to a report by the World Meteorological Organization.
A forest fire in the Amazon forest in the state of Para, Brazil.
Photographer: Raphael Alves/AFP/Getty Images
Heat, drought and floods — made worse by climate change — decimated crops in Latin America in 2021, leading to thousands of people falling victim to food insecurity and impacting global markets, according to the latest report by the World Meteorological Organization.
Warming in Latin America and the Caribbean is accelerating, with temperatures in the region increasing 0.2 degrees Celsius per decade on average between 1991 and 2021, compared to 0.1°C per decade between 1961 and 1990, according to the WMO’s second State of Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean report released on Friday.