Talking About Colombia

A study by Columbia University’s Earth Institute concluded that when the long droughts and scorching heats of el Niño occur, civil wars strive in 90 tropical countries. Overall, the team calculated that el Niño may have played a role in 21 percent of civil wars worldwide.

Solomon M. Hsiang, the study’s lead author, said, “if you have social inequality, people are poor, and there are underlying tensions, it seems possible that climate can deliver the knockout punch.” Crops fail. People take up guns to survive.

Read the full report here.

Colombia is expected to soon be hit with the torrential rains of La Niña, which, in turn, will likely be followed by the droughts of El Niño.