CARNA\u00daBA DOS DANTAS, Brazil \u2014 The land has sustained the Dantas family for more than 150 years, bearing fields of cotton, beanstalks up to a grown man\u2019s hip and, when it rained enough, a river that led to a waterfall.<\/p>\n
But on a recent day, with temperatures approaching 100 degrees, the river had run dry, the crops would not grow and the family\u2019s 30 remaining cattle were quickly consuming the last pool of water.<\/p>\n
\u201cFifty years from now, there won\u2019t be a soul living here,\u201d said In\u00e1cio Batista Dantas, 80, balanced in a frayed hammock. \u201cI tell my grandchildren that things are going to get very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n
His granddaughter, Hellena, 16, listened in \u2014 and pushed back. She grew up here. \u201cI plan to work this land,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Read it all<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cFifty years from now, there won\u2019t be a soul living here.\u201d<\/p>\n Much of Brazil\u2019s northeast is effectively turning into a desert. Climate change is one culprit, but residents have also made short-term decisions to get by that have had long-term consequences. https:\/\/t.co\/Wl09K4yNS5<\/a><\/p>\n — The New York Times (@nytimes) December 3, 2021<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n \n