El Niño is boiling out there, which is currently causing a heat wave in Colombia. Water levels in rivers and water reservoirs are at record lows, and there are areas close to drought and the resulting failure of food production. At the same time, there are a record number of forest fires in the highlands – including the capital Bogota. This is catastrophic because if the forests sweat away, not at least in the central Colombian highlands – then they no longer attract enough rain – and the consequence is that the two big rivers dry up together with two rivers that supply over 30% of the water to the Amazon basin.
The Colombian and Ecuadorian highlands are crucial for the survival of the Amazon, and if the climate does not cool down, the risk of the Amazon drying up is imminent – and yes, we are fairly “fucked” – to put it in good French.
