High in the Andes, glaciers have retreated and shrunk under the effects of climate change. Around four million people depend on the glaciers for water, yet they have lost nearly a meter of thickness over the last 20 years.
Similar impacts are being observed across Latin America and the rest of the globe, with signs that these changes are occurring faster and more intensely. The year 2020 reached or surpassed several milestones in the region; it was one of the three warmest years on record in Central America and the second warmest in South America. The heat was accompanied by increasing levels of drought and wildfires. Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua were directly and severely impacted by two consecutive Category 4 hurricanes, Eta and Iota. The increased intensity of both storms was linked to climate change.
