Variability in the El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) index 1982-2004, and temperature variation for those years - plus or minus 3 degrees maximum in those years of the ENSO events in the Pacific Ocean and affected region.

Glaciers grow and retreat at intervals depending on local climate changes, particularly variations in temperature and precipitation . Retreating and diminishing mountain glaciers all over the world, except in the Antarctica, indicate a general trend of global warming.

Since pre-industrial times, the atmospheric concentration of methane (CH4) has increased by 150%. Methane is a greenhouse gas that has a global warming potential that is 23 times stronger than CO2. (IPCC 2001) In 2000 the total world CH4 emissions was estimated at 6,000 million tonnes of CO2equivalents. In South America the emissions of CH4 per capita is almost twice the world average, while the per capita emissions in Central America and Caribb...

A comparison of the total level of CO2 emissions from Latin America compared to selected countries. Emissions from Latin America and Caribbean increased more than the world average between 1990 and 2000. The increase inthis region was more than 35% while the total increase in the world's emission (excluding land use change) was almost 13%. In South America the increase came mainly from industry and transport, where emissions increased by more t...

Land cover distribution in classes, ratios

Shows the amount of power that is used in the three main regions from fossil fuels, hydropower and other sources. While Central America and the Caribbean have a very carbon intense electricity production, even more intense than North America and Europe, South America has the lowest carbon intense electricity production . Between 1990 and 1999, emissions from electricity and heat production in fthe Caribbean and Central America increased by more...

According to the World Resources Institute,Brazil had the highest carbon dioxide equivalent emissions in the region in 2001, primarily due to changes in land use.) Most of the region’s forests are in South America, particularly in Brazil and Peru, which comprise 92% of the total forest cover. These countries are among the 10 that hold two-thirds of the world’s forests and jungles. Because of its size, the greatest extent of deforestation is in B...

Thickness, in relation to elevation, for two different ice fields located in very Southern South America (Patagonian ice fields), with 1975-2000 averages and 1995-2000 average, which show dramatic decrease.

A comparison of transportation CO2 emissions from selected Latin American and Caribbean countries. Increased transport is one of the main reasons for increased CO2 emissions, both in developed and developing countries. During the 1990s the increase in emissions from transport in South America was higher than the world average, while the increase in Central America and the Caribbean was similar to world average.

There is now ample evidence of a major retreat of most mountain glaciers during the last 100 years in response to widespread increases in temperature. In recent decades, the rate of glacial recession has increased tremendously. Mountain glaciers supply moisture to mountain forests during thedry and warm seasons. With retreating mountain glaciers, the risk of forest fires increases, with a subsequent reduction of forested areas. Smaller glaciers...

There are indications of changes in precipitation patterns over Latin America and the Caribbean during the last decades. In Argentina, for example, precipitation increases have been observed over Buenos Aires over the last hundred years. This can be seen as an indication of climate change.

In the period 1970-2002, Latin American economic development indicators were fluctuating significantly – from a decrease of 5.6 percent in 1971-1980 GDP growth to only 1.2 percent in 1981-1990, and an increase up to 3.3 percent GDP growth per year in the decade 1991-2000. The poverty that followed the collapse of the petroleum business in the 1980s was only reversed in the 1990s. During the last decade, as a result of economic reforms and private...

When global surface temperatures increase, changes in precipitation and atmospheric moisture are very likely to increase: the hydrological cycle will be more active, and the atmosphere will increase its water holding capacity. Atmospheric water vapour is a climatically critical greenhouse gas, and more of it leads to a stronger greenhouse effect through natural feedback systems. As a rule of thumb, precipitation will increase in areas that alre...

Global average temperature increased by 0.6 ° C over the last century, while sea levels rose by 9 to 20 cm. The IPCC projects increases in the global average surface temperature by between 1.4°C and 5.8°C and in sea level by between 9 and 88 cm. Sea level rise in combination with hurricane landfalls presents one of the greatest climate-related hazards in tropical Latin America. From 1945 to 1990 there had been an overall decrease in the number ...

The population in Latin America and the Caribbean grew by 85 percent between 1970 and 2001, from 285 million to about 528 million. In the same time, the annual growth rates fell from 2.5 percent to 1.5 percent, which is largely due to high level of urbanization, improvements in birth control programmes and social development factors.

A comparison between the amount of CO2 emissions of the world and latin America and the Caribbean. Since pre-industrial times, the atmospheric concentration of greenhouse gases has grown significantly. The present level of carbon dioxide concentration (around 375 parts per million) is the highest for 420,000 years, and probably the highest for the past 20 million years. CO2 is the greenhouse gas that contributes most to the enhanced greenhouse e...

Several mountain glaciers now disappear at a frightening rate as in the Santa Rosa glacier of Peru. A warmer climate often leads to increased precipitation. Much of the increased precipitation comes as rain instead of snow, mostly in the winter and to a lesser extent during the autumn and the spring. The winter rains fall over existing snow, causing increased melting. As the ice and snow cover is reduced, the albedo of the area is reduced as we...

Historic emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) for Latin America and the Caribbean 1970-2000 with projections up to 2030 using two different scenarios.

Compares the total amounts of CO2 emissions from the three main regions within Latin America and the Caribbean. CO2 emissions in the region vary considerably. The highest emissions come from South America, while the lowest and relatively more stable emissions come from the Caribbean. Between 1990 and 2000, CO2 emissions from South America increased by more than 40%, mainly because of increased emissions from transportation, industry and electri...

Brazil is the world’s second largest emitter of carbon dioxide (CO2) from land use change. Only Indonesia emits more. In 2000 CO2 emissions from land use change in Brazil represented 18% of the world’s total emissions. The per capita emissions from land use change in Brazil are 6 times higher than the world average. Most of the land use change emissions in Brazil are caused by the massive logging of its rainforest. The per capita emissions of C...