Brasília, Brazil | AFP | Muser NewsDesk
Heatwaves and other extreme weather ravaged Latin America and the Caribbean last year, but tallying the death toll from these events is a near-impossible task, a report published Monday warned.
Scientists say that recurring heatwaves are a clear marker of global warming and that these heatwaves are set to become more frequent, longer and more intense.
A report presented by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in the Brazilian capital noted torrential rains, flooding and landslides in several countries, including Peru, Ecuador, Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela in 2025.
October’s Hurricane Melissa devastated Jamaica and incurred losses of more than 40 percent of the Caribbean island’s GDP, according to the United Nations agency.
Eighty-five percent of Mexican territory was hit by drought, while Andean glaciers, which provide water to some 90 million people, melted at an accelerated rate.
The report also highlighted heatwaves across the Americas, with temperatures exceeding 45 °C in some areas.
Such extreme heat poses “an increasing public health burden,” it said.
Most countries do not systematically publish data on heat-related deaths, it added.
This data is usually inferred from analyses of excess mortality, according to the WMO.
The organization estimates around 13,000 heat-related deaths in Latin America every year, based on an average drawn from 17 countries between 2012 and 2021.
But this figure is almost certainly an underestimate, the report warned.
WMO Secretary-General Celeste Saulo said the report was a “call to action.”
“It calls on us to strengthen observations, invest in services, close early warning gaps, and ensure that climate information reaches those who need it most,” Saulo said in a statement.
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© Agence France-Presse
Report:
World Meteorological Organization (WMO), ‘State of the Climate in Latin America and the Caribbean 2025’, WMO-No. 1395, ISBN 978-92-63-11395-5. Permalink: https://library.wmo.int/idurl/4/69843
Article Source:
Press Release/Material by AFP
Featured image credit: WMO
