The water level at Lake Titicaca on the Peru-Bolivia border is gradually approaching a historic low, due to the intensifying El Nino weather phenomenon that is expected to become even more severe in the coming months.
According to Milagros Quispe, an engineer with Peru’s national meteorology and hydrology service Senamhi, the water level of the vast freshwater lake situated in the Andes mountains has been declining at an average rate of 4 inches (10 cm) per month since April.
The combination of severe drought conditions and unusually high temperatures has led to the shrinking of the shoreline at Titicaca, which is not only South America’s largest lake but also the highest navigable body of water in the world. Currently, the water level stands approximately 13 inches (33 cm) above its lowest ever recorded level in 1943.
Quispe stated that the exceedingly dry conditions and elevated temperatures have resulted in greater water evaporation from the lake, causing its water level to decrease by 29 inches (74 cm) over the past seven months, based on Senamhi’s data.
Despite limited rainfall in the mountainous region, it has been insufficient to stabilize the shoreline of Lake Titicaca, added Quispe.
The El Nino phenomenon typically brings heavy rainfall along Peru’s Pacific coast but drought conditions in the highlands.
In the previous month, Peru’s climate study office increased the likelihood of this El Nino event being strong starting from December, revising their previous forecast that predicted only moderate intensity.
Quispe mentioned that global warming has contributed to modifications in the basin and ecosystem of Titicaca.
(Reporting by Marco Aquino; Writing by David Alire Garcia; Editing by Rosalba O’Brien)
