Imminent Arrival of La Niña in Colombia: Weather Office
Imminent Arrival of La Niña in Colombia: Weather Office
Bogota (Coffee Network)- Colombia's coffee plantations continue to be hurt by heavy rains, which are causing landslides in some coffee-producing areas and now the weather office confirmed La Niña.
Colombia’s weather office Ideam said there is a 69% probability that the La Niña phenomenon will take place between July and September, evolving as the predominant phenomenon during the second half of 2024, the entity explained.
La Niña brings with it distinctive climatic patterns in the Colombian territory, where it is characterized by a greater presence of cloudiness and, therefore, greater and more intense rainfall, which will be evident mainly in the Andean and Caribbean regions.
In this way, it is expected that during the second half of the year there will be intense rains, which can influence floods, flash floods and landslides.
Ideam highlighted that, although it is not yet possible to estimate the strength La Niña will have, this phenomenon will coincide with two climatic events that may have an impact on more intense behavior.
The first of them is the tropical cyclone season, which, added to the presence of La Niña, is expected to be very active this year, particularly between June and November.
But it also coincides with the second rainiest season in the country, which is historically the strongest of the year, so rainfall is expected to increase above normal climatological amounts, especially for the Andean and Caribbean regions.
“The Early Warning System (SAT) has warned about monitoring this climate transition and therefore, the institute asks local authorities, relief agencies and communities to be prepared and take preventive measures to mitigate possible adverse impacts,” explains Ideam.
Colombia was experiencing intense droughts linked to the El Niño weather phenomenon since September until late March. Earlier this year, forest fires were reported across Colombia with strong droughts already affecting the quality of coffee produced in this Andean country as soil is not getting enough water to nourish coffee trees.
But the gradual end of El Niño and the usual rainfall recorded in April-May is prompting strong landslides in some coffee-producing towns.
At the Colombia’s second-largest coffee producing province of Antioquia, 45 municipalities are affected, of which seven are in the Uraba subregion of the department, where last weekend, the overflowing of the rivers left 1,700 families affected.
More than 1,200 families in the south of Bolívar are affected by flooding caused by heavy rains and the breaking of the 'Caregato' retaining wall.
There more than 200,000 cattle in danger, said Juan Gonzalo Botero, executive president of the Association of Livestock Exporters, in dialogue with W Radio.
According to the Government of Bolívar, around 400 families are directly affected by the rupture of the 'Caregato' gap, especially in San Jacinto del Cauca.
The mayors of the area have preliminarily reported 550 affected families in Montecristo, 75 in Norosí and 200 in Arenal del Sur, as a result of the overflowing of the Cauca River.
In the coffee-town of Montebello, Antioquia an avalanche almost destroyed the town. Some coffee plantations were destroyed. The same happened in the town of Tona in the eastern province of Santander where torrential rains affected the crops.
Videos footage show more than 100 families affected in the municipality of Montebello in Antioquia, Colombia’s second largest coffee-producing province. In the town of Dosquebradas, Caldas, rainfall has also affected the population and some plantations, people familiar with the situation said.
By Diana Delgado
