CLIMATE CHANGE DAMAGE, 2022 (photography)

Fjord Calvo On The Edge Of The Sarmiento Channel in Bernardo O'Higgins National Park in Patagonia Chile fjords near Puerto Natales, Chile. Climate change and mining threaten Chile's glaciers. With a long and narrow territory, Chile has 4% of the world's glaciers and 80% of those in South America, located in the Andes Mountains. It is one of the most important water reserves in the world, but everything could change quickly due to the effects of global warming and activities such as mining. All but three of the ice masses present in Chile are receding and many of them have broken up, accelerating melting even more. In addition to climate change, industrial activities such as mining are added to the list of threats. Mining activities generate different types of pollutants that directly affect glaciers. Many sterile materials are deposited on rock glaciers, generating an overload and destabilizing the structure of the ice.