According to Galindo et al. (2010), 2100 climate projections show an increasing frequency of hurricanes in the Caribbean and Central America, as well as a higher drought frequency and a reduction in annual rainfall. Glacier melting will continue along much of the Andean tropical glaciers of Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, as well as in Chile and Argentina.
In central and northern Argentina the number of extreme rainfalls has increased fourfold since the 1960s. Also, a sea level rise of up to 4mm/year has been recorded on the coast of Rio de la Plata during the last two decades. The persistence of both trends is worrisome given the population density in this area. Elsewhere, along the Andean mountains of Chile and Argentina, the frequency and length of droughts have increased.
Overall, water availability per capita has steadily decreased over the last decades, mostly due to the fact that the population has grown from 420 to 550 million inhabitants between 1992 and 2011.
Currently, water availability ranges from Mexico’s 3,500 m3/ person/yr to Peru’s 55,000 m3/person/yr
The regional average is around 25,000m3/person/yr, well above Europe’s 8,500m3/person/yr or Asia’s 3,600m3/person/yr. However, while most standard indicators underline Latin America’s privileged position in terms of water resources, water scarcity does occur at the regional scale.
In practice, this means that large countries such as Venezuela, Mexico and Peru show strong asymmetries between water availability and population density.
By 2030, the population in northwest South America, from Venezuela to Bolivia, is expected to grow by one-third. Countries such as Brazil, Argentina or Chile will experience a demographic growth of about 20%.
In addition, Latin America is experiencing other changes, namely, the shift of population from the countryside into the cities. As a result, per capita water consumption is rising dramatically in urban areas.
Chile is one of the best example showing huge difference of water availability
