Energy News
FIRE STORM
Colombia battles fires as drought fuels Latin American flames
Colombia battles fires as drought fuels Latin American flames
by AFP Staff Writers
Bogot� (AFP) Sept 22, 2024

Colombian authorities said Sunday they were fighting forest fires across seven departments, as a scorching drought fanned blazes across Latin America.

From Ecuador to Brazil, many Latin American nations are gripped by their worst drought in decades, fueling a blistering fire season that has set residents and governments on edge.

Colombia's National Unit for Risk and Disaster Management said in its latest report published on X that almost 11,000 hectares (27,000 acres) had been consumed by fires.

Some of the affected departments border Ecuador, Peru, and Brazil, which are also battling flames.

Authorities deployed eight airplanes to fight a fire in the village of Nagataima in the Andean Tolima department, where two people were injured as a result of the blaze.

Meanwhile Ecuador was experiencing power outages in 12 provinces on Sunday to ration electricity as the hydroelectric power-dependent country faces its worst drought in 61 years.

Nightly blackouts are planned from Monday to Thursday, as a way of "safeguarding the water resources" available after 71 days of no rain, the presidency said in a statement.

The Peruvian government this week declared a 60-day state of emergency in the three departments worst affected by fires, jungle regions bordering Brazil and Ecuador.

The drought has reduced the flow of the Amazon River where Colombia borders Peru and Brazil, choking food supplies and threatening residents' health.

Another major waterway, the Madeira River in the Brazilian Amazon, has dried up so much that residents are forced to ditch their canoes and walk across its baking sands to buy food and water, get healthcare and send their children to school.

Brazil, South America's biggest nation, has seen some of the most dramatic impacts of the drought which experts attribute to climate change.

Thick plumes of smoke have clouded major cities such as Brasilia, Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, from fires that have consumed millions of hectares of forest and farmland from the Amazon rainforest to the Pantanal wetlands.

Most of the fires are set deliberately by farmers trying to clear land for agriculture.

On some of the worst days of fires, smoke blew across the border to neighboring Argentina -- battling its own fires -- and Uruguay.

burs-fb/des

Related Links
Forest and Wild Fires - News, Science and Technology

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters
Tweet

RELATED CONTENT
The following news reports may link to other Space Media Network websites.
FIRE STORM
Portugal tackles last of deadly northern forest fires
Agueda, Portugal (AFP) Sept 19, 2024
Portugal's firefighters have mastered most of the deadly forest fires in the north of the country, according to official data on Thursday. And improving weather conditions have raised hopes that they could extinguish the last of the blazes by the end of the day. The wildfires, which sprang up over the weekend fed by crushing heat and strong winds, have killed five people, four of them firefighters. Another 90 people were injured, 12 of them seriously. Only two major fires were still active b ... read more

FIRE STORM
Study highlights greater ocean heat storage efficiency during last deglaciation

BlackSky secures HEO contract for Space Domain Awareness and Non-Earth Imaging

Tibetan plateau's unique heatwave amplified by land-atmosphere interactions

Study challenges long-held explanation for Doldrums, the equatorial low-wind region

FIRE STORM
SpaceX launches European Galileo satellites to medium Earth orbit

OneWeb Technologies unveils Astra PNT Solution for GPS-Denied Environments

Mathematical Proof Confirms Five Satellites Required for Precise GPS Navigation

Galileo satellites enter service after in-orbit testing

FIRE STORM
Germany joins pushback to EU anti-deforestation law; Brazil urges EU to suspend 'punitive' law

Brazil urges EU to suspend 'punitive' anti-deforestation law

Mozambique okays Africa's largest mangrove restoration project

Activists seek clarity over mining ban in Ecuador forest reserve

FIRE STORM
Electrochemical cell converts captured carbon to green fuel with high efficiency

Using sunlight to recycle harmful gases into valuable products

New study highlights improved ethanol production method using CO2 and Nanocatalysts

Biomethane Production on Peat Soils Leads to Higher CO2 Emissions than Natural Gas

FIRE STORM
How solar power is keeping one California community alive as the ground shifts

Airbus to Provide Over 200 Sparkwing Solar Arrays for MDA AURORA Satellites

JinkoSolar sets sights on expanding operations across Africa

University of Michigan develops efficient system for converting CO2 into ethylene

FIRE STORM
UK campaigners in green energy standoff reject 'nimby' label

Wind turbine orders grow 23 percent, led by China: study

Researchers develop method for chemically recyclable wind turbine blades

India's green energy wind drive hits desert herders hard

FIRE STORM
'End of an era': UK to shut last coal-fired power plant

India coal expansion risks massive methane growth: report

Coal phase-out fuels far right in rural eastern Germany

UK blocks approval of first coal mine in 30 years

FIRE STORM
China's 'full-time dads' challenge patriarchal norms

China piles extra work on weary youth to ease pension crisis

Hong Kong man faces jail over 'seditious' T-shirt

China frees US pastor detained for nearly two decades

Subscribe Free To Our Daily Newsletters




The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2024 - Space Media Network. All websites are published in Australia and are solely subject to Australian law and governed by Fair Use principals for news reporting and research purposes. AFP, UPI and IANS news wire stories are copyright Agence France-Presse, United Press International and Indo-Asia News Service. ESA news reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. All articles labeled "by Staff Writers" include reports supplied to Space Media Network by industry news wires, PR agencies, corporate press officers and the like. Such articles are individually curated and edited by Space Media Network staff on the basis of the report's information value to our industry and professional readership. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space Media Network on any Web page published or hosted by Space Media Network. General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) Statement Our advertisers use various cookies and the like to deliver the best ad banner available at one time. All network advertising suppliers have GDPR policies (Legitimate Interest) that conform with EU regulations for data collection. By using our websites you consent to cookie based advertising. If you do not agree with this then you must stop using the websites from May 25, 2018. Privacy Statement. Additional information can be found here at About Us.