COJATA, Bolivia: The exposed cracked floors of parts of Lake Titicaca, South America's largest body of fresh water and the highest navigable lake in the world nestled amid the Andes mountains, are an alarming sight for local farmer Manuel Flores.
His crops are parched, nearby water wells have dried up amid a long spell of drought, and his livestock are struggling. Like many who live on or around the lake, he used to get around easily by boat. Now he walks across the dried-up lake bed.
The lake, once seen as a deity by the pre-Columbian people that lived on its shores, is an important ecosystem for wildlife and a water source for millions of people, including in the city of El Alto, some 40 kilometers (25 miles) to the east.
But its water levels are now reaching record lows, worsened by the El Nino weather phenomenon that means less rain in the area, compounding a long dry spell and rare high temperatures.
Scientists say such extreme weather is becoming increasingly common globally because of climate change, which also intensifies the effects of El Nino.
"I am 50 years old. Never before has Lake Titicaca dried up like it is now. This affects us, because there is no more food for our livestock and we cannot travel by boat," said farmer Flores. "Now we have to walk and our crops no longer exist because it hasn't rained since last year."
The drought is approaching critical levels for the region's agriculture, farmers and experts said. If it does not rain by early December there will be no planting of potatoes, one of the food staples for Bolivia's rural communities and cities.
Around the lake, especially in the smaller and shallower "Lago Menor," the waters have receded from the shoreline, partly due to the lack of rains, high temperatures and receding of the Andean glaciers, whose melt water normally feeds the lake.
Experts say many of the factors contributing to the shrinking of Lake Titicaca could be linked to climate change.
"Ninety-five percent of the water loss from the lake is due to evaporation, which shows that this is totally or almost totally caused by climate change," said Xavier Lazzaro, an aquatic systems specialist with French research institute IRD.
'GOING DOWN CENTIMETER BY CENTIMETER'
According to MapBiomas Agua, which has monitored changes in surface water bodies in the area for two decades, Bolivia overall has seen a 39% drop in its natural surface waters, such as rivers and lagoons, between 1985 and 2022.
The decline comes with global temperatures hitting record highs, which has impacted rivers, lakes and glaciers from the United States to Asia.
"There are many factors, many causes," said Rodney Camargo, an official at local NGO Friends of Nature Foundation (FAN).
"On one hand we have local causes that we know about: deforestation, fires, human activity, large dams, which have an effect. In global terms we have climate change, and phenomena such as El Nino and La Nina, which cause floods and droughts."
Back at Lake Titicaca, Fredy Aruquipa, the person in charge of monitoring the lake's water level, watches it decline daily.
"The water is going down centimeter by centimeter," he said.
Reuters
Sun Nov 19 2023
Manuel Flores walks on a dry area that shows the drop in the level of Lake Titicaca, Latin America's largest freshwater basin, as it is edging towards record low levels, on Cojata Island, Bolivia. - REUTERS/Claudia Morales
Malaysia, Uzbekistan akan tingkatkan kerjasama ekonomi - Tengku Zafrul
Malaysia dan Uzbekistan akan memperbaharui komitmen mereka untuk mengukuhkan hubungan ekonomi sempena hubungan diplomatik selama empat dekad.
Bimbang hilang suami antara faktor wanita tidak jalani saringan kanser
Bimbang kehilangan suami dan menjadi beban kepada keluarga antara faktor menyebabkan ramai wanita di Kelantan tidak menjalani saringan awal kanser yang disediakan LPPKN di negeri ini.
SUKMA-21: Sarawak mahu cipta rekod untuk naik imej sebagai kuasa sukan
Sarawak selaku tuan rumah temasya Sukan Malaysia (SUKMA) edisi ke-21 yang berlangsung bermula 17 Ogos ini, mahu mencipta rekod kejohanan untuk menaikkan imejnya sebagai kuasa sukan di negara ini.
Kelantan warta garis panduan baharu sukan Muay Thai - Exco
Kerajaan Kelantan sudah mewartakan garis panduan baharu berhubung sukan Muay Thai di negeri itu untuk diperkasakan dan dibangunkan semula bagi melahirkan atlet bertaraf dunia.
Pertumbuhan ekonomi rantau APEC dijangka cecah 3.4 peratus pada 2024 - Laporan
Pertumbuhan ekonomi di negara-negara Kerjasama Ekonomi Asia Pasifik (APEC) dijangka mencecah 3.4 peratus pada 2024 dan perlahan kepada 2.9 peratus pada 2025-2026.
Tempoh permohonan sertai Sidang Belia Wilayah Persekutuan dilanjut hingga 31 Mei
Tempoh permohonan keahlian Sidang Belia Wilayah Persekutuan (SBWP) dilanjutkan hingga 31 Mei ini, kata Menteri di Jabatan Perdana Menteri (Wilayah Persekutuan) Dr Zaliha Mustafa.
Sembilan pemain skuad juara 2022 perkuat cabaran Malaysia di Piala Asia 2024
MHC mengekalkan sembilan pemain daripada skuad 2022 yang membawa Malaysia muncul juara edisi lepas bagi menggalas tugas mempertahankan kejuaraan Piala Asia 2024 di Taldykorgan, Kazakhstan.
Kesihatan mental petugas media perlu dijaga demi kualiti kerja
Tuntutan kerja para petugas media yang sentiasa berhadapan dengan pelbagai bentuk tekanan kadangkala mengakibatkan kesihatan mental menjadi lemah, sekali gus memberi impak kepada kesejahteraan mereka.
APEC harus tetapkan gaji minimum - MITI
Kerjasama Ekonomi Asia Pasifik (APEC) harus secara kolektif mewujudkan penetapan gaji standard untuk mencegah kadar gaji tidak sesuai yang memberi kesan kepada golongan wanita.
GOL tunggal Alif Haiqal hadiahkan Selangor FC mata penuh
Alif Haiqal Lau mencipta kemenangan dramatik selepas jaringan tunggalnya membantu Selangor FC (SFC) menewaskan Kedah Darul Aman (KDA) 1-0 FC di Stadium Majlis Bandaraya Petaling Jaya (MBPJ).