In Mexico, 17 patients at a public hospital in Hidalgo state died this week after torrential rains caused a river to burst its banks, flooding the area and leaving medical crews without power. Most of the victims were COVID-19 patients who had to be evacuated through floodwaters. 

In Brazil, a record drought fueled by the climate crisis is drastically reducing crop yields and deepening an energy crisis for a country that gets more than half its electricity from hydroelectric power plants. Officials say water levels are at their lowest level in over 90 years of records.

Suely Araújo: “The water crisis is the direct consequence of the climate crisis, which, in the case of Brazil, is mainly caused by deforestation.”