Climate change particularly affects Colombia. President Gustavo Petro declared a state of “natural disaster” in the country on Tuesday due to record rains that caused hundreds of deaths and a food shortage.
The rainfall recorded in 2022 “is the highest in the last 40 years,” Gustavo Petro told reporters in Bogota. He also stressed that they had already caused the death of 266 people and affected at least 800 municipalities.
Creation of “committees” against hunger
“The loss of harvests is considerable and aggravates the impact on the price of foodstuffs”, whose increase was already significant due to inflation and the devaluation of the local currency against the dollar.
The declaration of the state of natural “disaster” will allow each affected family to receive 100 dollars per month to meet their needs, ie half of a minimum wage. Farmers, for their part, will be able to receive a subsidy covering 100% of the cost of fertilizers. “Committees” against hunger will also be created in order to distribute food to the populations most affected by the rains or the loss of crops.
The government explains that the record rains are due to climate change and the La Niña phenomenon caused by an abnormally low temperature of the Pacific Ocean. Colombia recorded an interannual inflation rate of 11.4% in September, the highest in 23 years. Food prices are the ones that have increased the most.