As one of the regions most affected by the global climate crisis, local scientists are struggling with canceled research grants and funding cuts from federal agencies.
In the absence of long-term mitigation and adaptation projects from the government, many roads along Puerto Rico’s coastal strip could be vulnerable to rising sea levels and increased flooding.
Some of this money could have been used to implement initiatives from the Climate Change Mitigation, Adaptation, and Resilience Plan, which needs to be resubmitted to the Legislature for approval.
As temperatures and heat indexes in Puerto Rico continue to break records, the homeless population struggles to survive on the streets with no government action plan in place.
Adapting to climate change and dealing with its consequences is urgent, but communities affected by coastal erosion in Panama, Colombia, Puerto Rico, Guatemala, and Mexico watch in distress as these efforts fall short. Instead, a lack of information, government inaction, and short-term decisions that may worsen the outlook are the constant.
Although the government of Puerto Rico is betting on building two breakwaters to contain the sea’s progression into this municipality, residents question the projects, fearing they replicate a system that previously displaced an entire community.
Athletes recount the measures adopted to train under extreme temperatures.
The indicators of climate change and its effects on the life and health of populations continue to be ignored by many governments, warned Luciana Blanco Villafuerte, Lancet Countdown Latin America researcher.
