Hydrometeorological events in Latin America and the Caribbean
Latin America and the Caribbean has seen a recent increase in extreme climatic events, and with it a rise in the number of people affected. The number of storms between 2000 and 2009 increased by 12 compared to the period between 1970 and 1979. In this same time period, floods quadrupled. The number of people affected by extreme temperatures, forest fires, droughts, storms and floods grew from 5 million in the 1970s to more than 40 million in the most recent decade, both as a result of increased human settlement in the region and due to the increased vulnerability of coastal zones to these events. The estimated cost of damage from these extreme climate events in the last ten years exceeds US$40 billion.
Year: 2010
From collection: Vital Climate Change Graphics for Latin America and the Caribbean (2010)
Cartographer: Nieves López Izquierdo (Associate Consultant UNEP/GRID-Arendal)