Explanatory diagram of the greenhouse effect

What is drought ?

Drought is an episode of lack of water long enough and important to have an impact on the environment around, that is to say, soil, fauna, flora, and companies.

The causes of drought can be various :

• The lack of rain, then we speak of meteorological drought
• The lack of water in the soil, it is an agricultural drought
• An unusually low level of lakes, rivers and streams, then we speak of hydrological drought

Source : resource Centre for climate change adaptation, Drought : what to expect and
how to adapt

What is a heat wave ?

According to the IFRCheat waves can be defined by " a prolonged period of abnormally high temperatures and often high humidity. It is expected that they can become more frequent and more severe in the future due to climate change. "

Source : IFRC , Disasters, Climate Crises

The manifestations of climate change :

Climate change affects all regions of the planet, with various events :

• Anomalies of temperature : according to the Caribbean Regional Climate Centre, and the islands of the Caribbean show above-average temperatures (between +0,25 °C and +1,50 °C depending on the area). In the region, 2024 above 2023, and become the warmest year recorded.

The crises of drought become a global problem and growing in the islands of the Caribbean. Territories such as Martinique, by 2025, for example, are placed in vigilance drought with historically low rates of rainfall. For its part, the Pomegranate is facing serious challenges, with periods of drought, heat waves and fires that threaten ecosystems, agriculture and daily life. The episode marking the federation of St. kitts and Nevis in 2015 with a drought and increased rate of rainfall, the lowest since 1901.

Thirst for paradise : the crises of the water is a growing problem in the islands of the Caribbean – the International Science Council – Article about the water crisis in the Caribbean.

Drought 2025 : The Martinique is placed in vigilance drought – Actions of the State Article on drought episodes in Martinique.

Hot and dry : Grenada, a Caribbean island, is faced with drought, heat waves and fire. | IFRC Article on drought and heat waves in Grenada. (in – esp)

While the drought sets in, the farmers of Saint-Kitts-and-Nevis turn to technology for help – Article about the drought in St. Kitts and Nevis (2015in)

• Sea level : globally, it is high of 20 cm between 1901 and 2018, and the rate of rise has accelerated over the period 2006-2018, due to the thermal expansion of the oceans, the melting of the glaciers and the withdrawal of the ice caps near the poles.

In Guadeloupe, the coastal erosion caused by rising sea level (for example in Saint-François or Deshaies), has already significantly impacted the coastline. According to the BRGMthe coastline of the areas most exposed would have fallen by an average of 50 cm per year since the 1960s.

• Oceans : their upper (0-700 m) warmed since the 1970s, and they are currently undergoing a process of acidification.

• Extreme weather events : their frequencies and/or intensities have increased over the past 50 years (tropical cyclone activity, heat waves, droughts...).

There has also been a rapid scale-up of some cyclones that reach category high in a very short time, increasing their destructive nature. The passage of hurricane Beryl in 2024 is a striking illustration : become the hurricane, the most powerful ever observed in Grenada and its dependencies, it has devastated much of the Caribbean.

Documentation and redirect link :

According to the forecasts of the world's climate, temperatures are expected to remain at record levels or equivalents
record in the next five years | World Meteorological Organization

(in) (esp)

Latin America and the Caribbean are affected by extreme weather conditions and the effects of climate (report
2024)

(in) (esp)

El Niño and climate change were manhandled Latin America and the Caribbean (report 2023)

(in) (esp)