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MercoPress, en Español

Montevideo, September 21st 2024 - 09:21 UTC

Environment

  • Wednesday, May 29th 2024 - 10:40 UTC

    Cerrado surpasses Amazon as Brazil's most destroyed biome in 2023

    The Amazon and the Cerrado accounted for more than 85% of the deforested area, the latter alone representing 61%

    According to the latest MapBiomas survey, the Cerrado has surpassed the Amazon as Brazil's most deforested biome in 2023 following the damages detected in the region known as Matopiba, which includes Maranhão, Tocantins, Piauí, and Bahia totaling 1,110,326 hectares destroyed, a 68% increase from 2022.

  • Monday, May 27th 2024 - 06:37 UTC

    Outbreak of leptospirosis in Brazil's flooded areas; health authorities warning

    It is estimated flooding has affected 2,3 million of the 10 million population of Brazil's most southern state that has borders with Argentina and Uruguay.

    The first four deaths from the waterborne bacterial disease, leptospirosis, have been reported in the southern Brazil state of Rio Grande do Sul, where floodwaters following days of unprecedented rainfall have started to recede, but health authorities are warning of additional fatalities.

  • Thursday, May 23rd 2024 - 10:26 UTC

    Agricultural emergency decreed in Uruguay

    Producers still need to measure their losses, Mattos explained

    Uruguayan authorities have declared a 120-day agricultural emergency to deal with the consequences of severe floods hitting parts of the country. The weather phenomenon is a geographical continuation of the one that hit the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul killing some 175 people with several dozens still unaccounted for.

  • Tuesday, May 21st 2024 - 10:59 UTC

    Rio Grande do Sul still far from recovering from floods

    Porto Alegre's Salgado Filho continues not to be operational but flights are serving an Air Force base nearby

    Brazilian authorities have released a new report updating the number of casualties in the storm-hit State of Rio Grande do Sul to 157 with 88 people still missing and some 650,000 others displaced.

  • Wednesday, May 15th 2024 - 16:45 UTC

    Brazil allows unrestricted entry of international donations and used equipment for Rio Grande do Sul

    Brazil allows unrestricted entry of international donations and used equipment for Rio Grande do Sul

    Given the calamity conditions in the southern state of Rio Grande do Sul, because of the floods and prospects of further rainfall, leaving at least two million people displaced, the government of Brazil has allowed the unrestricted entry of international donations into RGdoS for the ensuing 30 days.

  • Monday, May 13th 2024 - 10:55 UTC

    LatAm and Caribbean hit hard by crises stemming from El Niño and climate change, according to WMO

    Rio Grande do Sul's “catastrophe is a tragic reminder of how increasingly intense and frequent climate hazards undermine socioeconomic development,” Saulo explained

    The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) pointed out last week that Latin America and the Caribbean were going through a series of weather crises linked to the El Niño phenomenon and climate change. The current one in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul was one of the worst.

  • Monday, May 13th 2024 - 10:49 UTC

    Massive aid promised to Rio Grande do Sul to overcome floods of biblical proportions

    IDB president Goldfajn has anticipated a US$ 1 billion package

    The Inter American Development Bank, IDB, has announced a package of emergency measures, plus humanitarian aid and special credits for rebuilding infrastructure in the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul currently suffering from the worst floods in a century, with hundreds dead and disappeared, and over a million of the eleven million population forcibly displaced.

  • Monday, May 13th 2024 - 10:48 UTC

    Brazil to buy rice from Mercosur countries to feed storm-hit Rio Grande do Sul

    “We're going to have to import rice from Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina,” Lula said upon announcing the initiative

    Brazil's National Supply Company (Conab) has been entrusted with purchasing one million tons of rice to feed the people of Rio Grande do Sul and avoid the intervention of middle people seeking a black market profit from the victims of the unprecedented storms. Under normal circumstances, Rio Grande do Sul accounts for 70% of Brazil's rice production.

  • Saturday, May 11th 2024 - 10:50 UTC

    Death toll in storm-hit Rio Grande do Sul updated to 116

    Assistance to places only reached by helicopter might be affected by rains during the weekend

    The total number of casualties in the Brazilian State of Rio Grande do Sul affected by unprecedented heavy rains has been updated to 116 as bad weather has been forecast to continue over the weekend. Volumes estimated to be around 115 millimeters would again put pressure on the already overflowing rivers, according to Presidential Information Minister Paulo Pimenta.

  • Friday, May 10th 2024 - 10:40 UTC

    India will host significant Antarctica research and environmental meetings

    India’s first Antarctic research station, Dakshin Gangotri, was established in 1983. At present, India operates two year-round research stations: Maitri (1989) and Bharati (2012).

    India through the National Centre for Polar and Ocean Research (NCPOR), will host the 46th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM 46) and the 26th Meeting of the Committee for Environmental Protection (CEP 26) from May 20 to 30, 2024, in Kochi, Kerala. This is in line with India’s poise to facilitate constructive global dialogue on environmental stewardship, scientific collaboration, and cooperation in Antarctica.