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Extreme weather events are increasingly international concerns, with deadly and economically catastrophic hurricanes hitting the US, record-high flooding across huge swathes of West and Central Africa, and historic drought in Latin America.
Hurricane Milton made landfall in Florida Wednesday, leaving millions without power and leading to critical shortages of IV fluids in hospitals.
In Chad, the Logone river surged to its highest level on record in September. West and Central Africa — two of the world’s poorest regions — have for weeks been battered by an above-average monsoon that has displaced millions and stymied trade.
Meanwhile, Latin America has been grappling with drought, and as water levels hit record lows several countries that rely on hydropower are struggling to generate enough electricity to meet demand. Ecuador dismissed its energy minister Wednesday over rolling power blackouts that have devastated the economy.
SIGNALSLatin America’s drought could delay green transitionSource: El País
Severe drought in Latin America could delay the region’s transition toward green energy, El País noted. Colombia, the host of this month’s United Nations’ COP16 summit on biodiversity, generates roughly two-thirds of its electricity from hydropower and has had to enforce water rationing in Bogotá and limit energy use across the country. The government may soon have to revert to coal and gas to make up for the power shortfall. “If we add to that the fact that we have been unable, for several years, to put enough energy to meet the growth in demand, we have all the problems at the same time,” the country’s former energy minister said.
In Africa, extreme weather compounds socio-economic issuesSources: AfricaNews, UNHCR, The Wall Street Journal, World Food Programme
In West and Central Africa, severe flooding has compounded the region’s long-standing economic and social challenges. Niger, which has seen the worst flooding in a decade this year, is still recovering from a 2023 military coup. South Sudan is suffering from a monthslong economic crisis and a devastating yearslong civil war that is causing thousands of people to flee daily: Authorities in the country have turned to taxing aid trucks in a bid to bolster the government’s coffers. “The heavy rains have made things worse, dealing a final blow to thousands of people already starving,” an Oxfam official told The Wall Street Journal. Neighboring Chad has been on the receiving end of the South Sudanese refugee crisis, sending local food prices soaring.
Nowhere is immune from climate changeSources: PBS, The New York Times, The Washington Post
Hurricane Helene wreaked devastation in areas of the US many considered “climate havens” that are relatively safe from the extreme weather events, like the town of Asheville in North Carolina. The town — “temperate, inland, nestled up in the hills with lots of freshwater”— was a popular climate migration destination, PBS noted, but Helene shows such havens don’t exist. “You can’t hide from climate change,” a climate adaptation expert told The New York Times. The perception of safety may have left residents of the area unprepared for the hurricane, and increased damage, The Washington Post reported.
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Publish date : 2024-10-10 05:37:00
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