Like many places suffering deadly consequences of climate
change, the sprawling freshwater lake nestled in the Andes
mountains on Bolivia's border with Peru now features a water
level approaching an all-time low.
Globally, July was the hottest month on record, as prolonged dry
spells take an especially heavy toll on humans and animals
alike.
Titicaca is only 30 cm (1 foot) away from reaching its record
low of 1996 due to severe drought, said Lucia Walper, an
official with Bolivia's hydrology and meteorology service. She
added that the drought could last until November in some parts
of the country.
Farmers in the adjacent Huarina community are desperate for
help.
"Look, this part is totally dry. There's no water," said Isabel
Apaza. "I don't know what we're going to do any more since we
don't have food for our cows or lambs."
The waters of Lake Titicaca have for decades ebbed and flowed at
an altitude of around 3,800 meters (12,500 ft) above sea level,
which makes it even more vulnerable to evaporation by solar
radiation, according to experts at Bolivia's Oruro Technical
University.
Along extended stretches of the lake's shore, once fertile areas
have recently been reduced to dust.
"It's like the earth is burning," lamented Huarina leader
Gabriel Flores.
Historic drought in South America has also slammed neighboring
Argentina's crucial farm sector, prompting the International
Monetary Fund to forecast a 2.5% economic contraction this year
as a result.
Meanwhile in Uruguay, the Canelon Grande Reservoir, a major
source of drinking water for the capital Montevideo, shriveled
in June as water levels sank so low that grass covered much of
the lake bed.
(Reporting by Monica Machicao; Additional reporting by Santiago
Limachi and Sergio Limachi; Writing by Valentine Hilaire;
Editing by David Alire Garcia and Nick Macfie)
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