기후변화의 여파로 페루에 겨울 한파가 예년보다 일찍 찾아와 현재까지 246명의 5세 이하 어린이들이 사망했다는 BBC 뉴스입니다. 페루의 겨울이 이제 절반 정도 지났기 때문에 앞으로 사망자가 더 늘어날 것으로 예상됩니다.
사망의 원인은 주로 저체온증(hypothermia) 및 폐렴( pneumonia)과 같은 심한 호흡기 감염증인데, 페루의 어린이들이 빈곤으로 인해 영양상태가 취약하기 때문에 희생자가 많이 나오고 있는 것으로 분석됩니다.
사망자들의 1/3은 페루 남부의 푸노지역에서 발생했는데, 이 지역은 이웃나라 볼리비아까지 뻗어있는 알티플라노( altiplano) 고원지대입니다.(참고 : 관광지로 유명한 티니카카 호수(El lago Titicaca)가 페루와 볼리비아의 알피플라노 고원지대에 있습니다.)
페루정부는 비상사태를 선포했지만, 사전에 추위를 충분히 예측하고 적절한 대비를 하지 못했다는 비난을 받고 있다고 합니다.
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Children die in harsh Peru winter | |
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Almost 250 children under the age of five have died in a wave of intensely cold weather in Peru.
Children die from pneumonia and other respiratory infections every year during the winter months particularly in Peru’s southern Andes.
But this year freezing temperatures arrived almost three months earlier than usual.
Experts blame climate change for the early arrival of intense cold which began in March.
Winter in the region does not usually begin until June.
The extreme cold, which has brought snow, hail, freezing temperatures and strong winds, has killed more children than recorded annually for the past four years.
A total of 246 under the age of five have died so far, only half way through the winter months.
One third of the deaths were registered in the southern region of Puno, much of which is covered by a high plateau known as the altiplano which extends into neighbouring Bolivia.
Aid workers say prolonged exposure to the cold is causing hypothermia and deadly respiratory infections such as pneumonia.
Children, who are often malnourished, are more vulnerable to the extreme cold.
Poverty is widespread in Peru’s southern highlands and there is a lack of healthcare and basic services.
The government has declared a state of emergency in the affected areas but critics say the cold snaps are predictable and the annual deaths preventable.
Many have blamed government inefficiency for the deaths.
But Peru’s Health Minister, Oscar Ugarte, has said regional officials have not effectively distributed government resources.
Meanwhile in the capital, Lima, it has become an annual ritual for businesses and ordinary citizens to donate blankets, clothes and food for the victims of the cold weather in the south of the country.
