Week10: Extreme Weather, Argentina

Argentina is particularly vulnerable to natural disasters. Because of its large surface area and unique geography, the country is prone to desertification, flooding, drought, volcanic eruptions, heavy snowfalls, landslides, earthquakes, and tornados. The direct impact of climate change has been observed across the country in recent years. Slow and gradual changes such as increased precipitation and temperatures have been observed in many parts of the country. In addition, Argentina has also suffered numerous extreme climate events that have resulted in disasters.



Argentina is experiencing one of the worst droughts in the past two decades, driven by a third consecutive year of La Niña. The dry conditions threaten to set back the planting of the country’s corn and soybean crops and damage the upcoming harvest of winter wheat. In Argentina’s main corn-growing provinces of Buenos Aires, Cordoba, and Santa Fe, drought conditions have worsened over the past month, and are currently the third worst in two decades after 2008 and 2009, which were also La Niña years. As corn planting gets underway this month, Argentine farmers are contending with the lowest soil moisture levels since 2011. 


A major drought occurred in late 2017, and early 2018 in the Pampas of central-eastern Argentina, a major world breadbasket. The drought was linked to a mild La Niña event and intraseasonal modes of atmospheric variability. Several locations in the Pampas showed historical lows in precipitation during this event. The lack of rainfall was compounded by high temperatures and heat waves during early 2018.


Some steps can be taken by a person in their day-to-day life to help preserve water during a drought. Never pour water down the drain when there may be another use for it. For example, use it to water your indoor plants or garden. Fix dripping faucets by replacing washers. One drop per second wastes 2,700 gallons of water a year. Check all plumbing for leaks and have any leaks repaired by a plumber. Retrofit all household faucets by installing aerators with flow restrictors. Install an instant hot water heater on your sink. Insulate your water pipes to reduce heat loss and prevent them from breaking. Choose appliances that are more energy and water efficient.



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Comments

  1. Sam McCarthyOctober 28, 2022 at 1:22 PM

    Hey Argentia! I thought this blog was really great. Your country has extremely drastic weather patterns so its impressive you covered all of them. I didn't know an area that is prone to flooding could also have dry spells. Overall really thorough blog.

    ReplyDelete

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