The negative effects on human health, along with the fatalities caused by the new coronavirus, have led governments worldwide to take strict measures. However, a reduction in air pollution has been found in many regions on a global scale. This study is focused on how the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting on the air quality in Ecuador, one of the most alarming cases of COVID-19 contagion in Latin America, occupying the first place as regards deaths per capita. The spatio-temporal variations in NO 2 concentrations in 12 highly populated cities were evaluated by comparing the NO 2 tropospheric concentrations before (2019) and after (2020) the COVID-19 lockdown. The atmospheric data was collected from the TROPOMI on the Sentinel-5P satellite of the European Space Agency. A reduction in NO 2 concentrations (−13%) was observed as a consequence of the COVID-19 lockdown in Ecuador. However, this reduction occurred to the greatest extent in the cases of Guayaquil (−23.4%) and Quito (−22.4%), the two most highly populated cities. Linking NO 2 levels to confirmed cases/deaths of COVID-19, a strong correlation between air NO 2 concentrations and the cases/mortality caused by coronavirus ( r = 0.91; p<0.001) was observed. This work highlights the crucial role played by air quality as regards human health.
Extraordinary rainfall events are the object of research in different parts of the world, where their occurrence has caused negative socioenvironmental impacts, expressed in substantial human and material losses. The objective of this work is to analyze the causes and consequences of the extraordinary rains registered in Manabí in February and March 2017, emphasizing its social, economic andenvironmental effects. It is assumed that these events are closely related to the anomalies of sea surface temperature in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Field research was conducted by analyzing sea surface temperature (SST) data in satellite imagery using the Split Night Multi Channel Sea Surface Temperature algorithm to identify thermal anomalies. With the precipitation records of meteorological stations of the Ecuadorian coastal region, a descriptive statistical analysis was conducted to determine the annual behavior (regime) and historical rainfall. Socioeconomic impacts were studied from unstructured interviews with key informants, through non-probability sampling, as well as primary information from government agencies.The results indicate that the extraordinary rains observed during the February-March 2017 period were a consequence of the combination of factors such as positive thermal anomalies in the equatorial Pacific, intertropical convergence and atmospheric instability in the Amazon. This generated negative impacts in urban and rural localities such as Manta, Portoviejo, Lodana, Calceta and Chone.
The consequences of climate change in the agricultural sector worldwide expose the need to understand the scope of their impact in order to develop mitigation and adaptation strategies for them. Therefore, this research evaluated the alterations in the environmental conditions and their relation with the vulnerability of smallholder cocoa (Theobroma cacao L.) producers to climate change in the province of Manabí. A non-probabilistic sampling of 1,060 small farmers was made in five cantons of Manabí. The vulnerability was determined through indicators such as the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), deforestation data from 1990 to 2016, models of the changes in climate and extreme weather events, satellite images, records from the National Institute of Meteorology and Hydrology (INAMHI by its initials in Spanish), and numerical outputs of mathematical models calibrated for Ecuador climatic and environmental data. Each indicator was calculated in conventional units and then categorized into vulnerability levels: low, medium, high and very high. For the indicators’ superposition, algebraic tools of the Geographic Information Systems’ (GIS) maps were used. The results showed a very high incidence of extreme events, deforestation higher than 6,000 ha year-1, an increase of 0.8 °C in temperature between 1960 and 2006, an increase in rainfall on the coastal zone close to 90% and a decrease of it of more than 20% on the agricultural area. Furthermore, coverage showed the following distribution of the determined vulnerability levels: low (13.30%), medium (34.74%), high (45.53%), and very high (6.43%).
Uno de los principales problemas ambientales atribuidos al uso de la tierra en la cuenca del río Chichiriviche (estado Vargas, Venezuela), está vinculado con la actividad agrícola que, origina condiciones para la activación de procesos erosivos en el suelo, frente al impacto de la lluvia. Bajo este contexto, se analizaron el potencial erosivo y las intensidades extremas de las precipitaciones, como indicadores de erosividad en la cuenca montañosa del río Chichiriviche. Se analizaron la distribución espacio-temporal de las precipitaciones, la frecuencia de los eventos extremos de las intensidades y se estimaron los Índices de Fournier Anual, Modificado de Fournier, Concentración de las Precipitaciones, Erosividad Total y Potencial Erosivo de las Lluvias. La distribución espacial de las lluvias está controlada principalmente por la altitud; su régimen anual se caracteriza por una mayor concentración de precipitaciones a finales de año. Las intensidades máximas oscilaron entre 56,43 mm/h y 81,95 mm/h para eventos de 1 hora de duración y 100 años de período de retorno. Los índices estimados, indicaron bajo a moderado potencial erosivo de las lluvias. La ocurrencia de procesos erosivos en el área estudiada, está relacionada con la intensidad de las precipitaciones extraordinarias como eventos puntuales aislados.
El sismo del 16 de abril de 2016 afectó gran parte de la población costera del Ecuador, la cual en más del 60 % depende de las actividades agropecuarias. En este trabajo se analizan los efectos del sismo en este sector productivo, con registros oficiales, entrevistas no estructuradas y visitas de campo. El sismo afectó a más del 80% de la población rural dedicada a cultivos de cacao (24%), palma africana (23%), maíz (17%), arroz (8%), plátano (7%) y una infraestructura pecuaria conformada por 170 granjas avícolas, 328 granjas porcícolas, 736 camaroneras, 55 caletas pesqueras y el mayor número de cabezas de ganado por provincia a escala nacional. Las afectaciones se resumen en falta de energía eléctrica, daños a la infraestructura vial, viviendas, silos, casas comerciales, así como ruptura de canales de riego y destrucción de pozos subterráneos, agrietamientos, hundimientos y deslizamientos cosísmicos con inutilización de pastizales, formación de represas en esteros, daños a la infraestructura camaronera y pesquera y pérdida de implementos agrícolas. Estas afectaciones reducen las condiciones socioeconómicas de los productores agropecuarios, por lo que es necesario canalizar el suministro de insumos agrícolas básicos, la rehabilitación de infraestructura rural y la capacitación de agricultores, impulsando medios de vida sostenibles. Palabras clave: Riesgo sísmico, sostenibilidad, producción agropecuaria, resiliencia
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