The Isthmus of Tehuantepec, a neck of land in the southern state of Oaxaca, is facing its worst drought in decades, sharpening fears that changing weather patterns in Mexico will increasingly imperil farmers’ livelihoods. The drought, which Alejandro Murat, Oaxaca’s governor, has called “a disaster,” is a fresh sign that Mexican regions are facing weather—such as drought or torrential rains—that is atypical or extreme, say experts. “You cannot but link droughts in a region like Tehuantepec, which normally doesn’t see droughts, with climate change,” says Gustavo Ampugnani, executive director of Greenpeace Mexico. The isthmus is a sub-humid region where rainfall averages 900 millimeters (35 inches) annually, slightly higher than the average for Mexico. The Benito Juárez reservoir, which serves about 120,000 acres... [Log in to read more]