Impactos das mudanças climáticas na América Latina e no Caribe

This report, published by the Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI), examines the multifaceted impacts of climate change across Latin America and the Caribbean. It highlights the disproportionate vulnerability of rural women, indigenous populations, and coastal communities, while discussing the intersection of environmental degradation with public health, education, and migration. The document advocates for a transdisciplinary approach to science that integrates local and ancestral knowledge to inform public policy and foster regional resilience.

• Rural and marginalized communities in Latin America and the Caribbean, particularly indigenous and peasant populations, suffer disproportionately from nature's destruction and often lack access to scientific discourse on climate change. In regions like Montes de María in Colombia and Sachayoj in the Argentine Chaco, 'coproduction' of knowledge between scientists and locals has shown promise in identifying threats and implementing environmental monitoring to reduce agrochemical use.
• Ocean warming is severely impacting artisanal fisheries in the Southwest Atlantic, specifically along the coasts of Brazil, Uruguay, and northern Argentina. In Uruguay, the yellow clam (Mesodesma mactroides) suffered mass mortalities in the 1990s due to rising sea surface temperatures, leading to total fishing closures in the Rocha department. Similar collapses have occurred with the Mesodesma donacium in Peru and Chile due to El Niño events.
• Rural women in Latin America and the Caribbean are on the front lines of climate disasters and face systemic gender inequalities that limit their adaptive capacity. In Jamaica's Blue Mountains, female coffee farmers face reduced yields and increased pests. Regionally, women and children are estimated to be 14 times more likely than men to die during a disaster, and only about 30% of rural women in Latin America own agricultural land.
• Climate change is a primary driver of migration in the Americas, with projections suggesting up to 17 million people in Latin America could migrate due to climate factors by 2050. Between 1998 and 2020, over 277 million people in the region were affected by climatic and geophysical phenomena. Internal displacements are frequent, such as in 2020 when Honduras saw 937,000 and Brazil saw 358,000 displaced persons due to disasters.
• Extreme weather events are severely disrupting education in the Caribbean and Central America. Hurricanes Matthew (2016), Eta, and Iota (2021) damaged hundreds of schools in Haiti, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. The combination of climate disasters and the COVID-19 pandemic is estimated to have resulted in a loss of 1.5 years of learning for students in the region.
• The Amazon rainforest is trapped in a vicious cycle where deforestation and fires accelerate climate change, making the forest drier and more susceptible to further burning. Between 1985 and 2020, approximately 16% of the biome burned. These fires release massive amounts of CO2 and reduce the forest's ability to pump water into the atmosphere, affecting rainfall in Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina.
• In the Paraná River basin, the conflict between hydroelectric energy production and environmental preservation is evident. While the basin provides 40% of Brazil's electricity capacity, reservoir operations disrupt aquatic biodiversity and the livelihoods of fishers. Climate projections indicate a potential reduction in water flows between 7% and 40%, threatening both energy security and fish populations.
• Environmental changes and habitat destruction are increasing the risk of zoonotic diseases and pandemics. Rising temperatures are shifting the geographical distribution of vectors, leading to dengue outbreaks in previously cold areas like the tropical Andes and the Southern Cone (e.g., Córdoba, Argentina). The report advocates for 'One Health' and 'Planetary Health' approaches that integrate human, animal, and environmental health.
• There is a critical need to transition from technocratic, centralized water governance to participatory models. In Uruguay, the 'plebiscite for water' led to constitutional reforms ensuring the human right to water and civil society participation. However, challenges remain in countries like Chile, where a market-based allocation system creates significant inequalities in water access.
• The report argues that modern science has often been isolated from society, leading to a loss of trust and the implementation of 'dehumanized' policies. It calls for 'transdisciplinary science' that values indigenous and traditional knowledge. An example of this failure is seen in the Tupinambá lands in Bahia, Brazil, where satellite-based conservation data were used to justify restrictions on ancestral farming practices without local consent.

APA

Giorgi, J., & Torres, I. (n.d.). Impactos das mudanças climáticas na América Latina e no Caribe. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research. https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/PT-Impactos%20das%20mudan%C3%A7as%20clim%C3%A1ticas%20na%20Am%C3%A9rica%20Latina%20e%20no%20Caribe.pdf

Chicago

Giorgi, Jerónimo, and Irene Torres. Impactos das mudanças climáticas na América Latina e no Caribe. Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research, n.d. https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/PT-Impactos%20das%20mudan%C3%A7as%20clim%C3%A1ticas%20na%20Am%C3%A9rica%20Latina%20e%20no%20Caribe.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Giorgi |first1=Jerónimo |last2=Torres |first2=Irene |title=Impactos das mudanças climáticas na América Latina e no Caribe |publisher=Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research |url=https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/PT-Impactos%20das%20mudan%C3%A7as%20clim%C3%A1ticas%20na%20Am%C3%A9rica%20Latina%20e%20no%20Caribe.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{giorgindimpactos, author = {Giorgi, Jerónimo and Torres, Irene}, title = {{Impactos das mudanças climáticas na América Latina e no Caribe}}, institution = {Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research}, url = {https://iai.int/administrador/assets/images/ckfinder/files/PT-Impactos%20das%20mudan%C3%A7as%20clim%C3%A1ticas%20na%20Am%C3%A9rica%20Latina%20e%20no%20Caribe.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }