Santiago, Chile
Reuters
Climate variability and extreme weather events stalk at least 20 Latin American countries and increase the risk of hunger and malnutrition in the region, according to a multi-agency United Nations study published on Monday.
The economies of Latin America and the Caribbean are heavily dependent on farming, ranching, forestry and fishing, agricultural sectors directly linked to food security that are particularly vulnerable to droughts, floods and storms.
A woman cools off in a shower at a bar as restaurants undertake measures to mitigate the heat, amid high temperatures, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on 25th January, 2025. PICTURE: Reuters/Tita Barros.
Scientists have cautioned that extreme weather will intensify due to climate change. As the world’s second-most exposed region, after Asia, Latin America could struggle to feed itself.
Extreme weather events impacted 74 per cent of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, according to the study, with half of the countries analysed considered likeable to face increased malnourishment as a result.
The report entitled Regional Overview of Food Security and Nutrition 2024, highlighted that hunger affected 41 million people, or 6.2 per cent of the population, in the region in 2023.
The study documented some recent progress; the number of hungry people across the region in 2023 was 2.9 million fewer than in 2022, and down 4.3 million compared to 2021. But the study cautioned that the downward trend could be thwarted by climate threats.
“Climate variability and extreme weather events are reducing agricultural productivity, disrupting food supply chains, increasing prices, impacting food environments and threatening progress in reducing hunger and malnutrition in the region,” the study stated.
The report was conducted by five United Nations agencies; the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the International Fund for Agricultural Development, the Pan American Health Organization, the World Food Program and the United Nations Children’s Fund.
