Lucia Ortíz trudges through endless fields of cempasuchil flowers, the luminescent orange petals of which will soon cloak everything from city streets to cemeteries across Mexico.
Here, in the winding canals and farms on the fringes of Mexico City, the flower also known as the Mexican marigold has been farmed for generations, and takes the spotlight every year in the country's Day of the Dead celebrations.
But as 50-year-old Ortíz and other farmers busily bundle clusters of the plant to sell in markets around the capital, they quietly wonder what will be left of their livelihood down the line.
That’s because cempasuchil growers say they’ve been left reeling by torrential rains, stretching drought and other impacts from climate change — caused by the burning of fuels like gas, oil and coal – that have grown increasingly common.
With the cempasuchil plants, we’ve sometimes been left with nothing. Lucia Ortíz farmer
Farmers, who depend on the ebbs and flows of the weather to cultivate their crops, are on the front line of the climate crisis. This year alone, cempasuchil producers said they lost up to half their flower crop from heavy rains and flooding.
Continue Reading on Euronews
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.