CNN –
Water levels on Lake Titicaca – the highest navigable lake in the world and the largest in South America – are falling precipitously after an unprecedented winter heatwave. The shocking decline is affecting tourism, fishing and agriculture that locals rely on for their livelihoods.
“We don’t know what we’re going to do from now until December because the water will continue to go down,” said 63-year-old Nazario Charca, who lives on the lake and makes a living ferrying tourists through the waters.
Visitors have long been drawn to the blue waters and open skies of South America’s largest lake, which stretches over more than 3,200 square miles on the border of Peru and Bolivia.
Sometimes referred to as the “Inland Sea,” it is home to the Aymara, Quechua and Uros indigenous communities. It lies at an altitude of about 3,800 meters (12,500 feet) in the central Andes Mountains, making it the highest navigable lake in the world. Due to the extreme altitude, the lake is also exposed to high levels of solar radiation, which promotes evaporation and accounts for most of its water losses.
More than three million people live around the lake and rely on its waters for fishing, farming and attracting tourists who boost the economy of an otherwise marginalized region.
Now there is a risk that the lake will lose some of that magic.
Although water levels are known to fluctuate every year, these changes have become even more extreme due to the climate crisis. A record-breaking winter heatwave has led to increased evaporation and falling lake levels, worsening drought-induced water deficits, according to CNN meteorologist Taylor Ward.
Sixto Flores, director of the Peruvian National Meteorological and Hydrological Service (Senamhi) in Puno, told CNN that rainfall there was 49% lower than average from August 2022 to March 2023, a period that includes the rainy season in which the water level normally recovers.
Flores told CNN that if the lake evaporates at the same rate it normally does over the next few months, water levels will be heading toward their lowest level since 1996 by December, which he described as “very serious.”
This is part of a “gradual decline” in water levels at the lake in recent years, Flores said, and a recent study that examined satellite images from 1992 to 2020 showed that Lake Titicaca is losing around 120 million tons of water annually. which, according to the authors, is primarily due to changes in precipitation and runoff.
Communities that rely on fishing are struggling as low water levels lead to growing problems: declining fish stocks due to pollution and overfishing.
Agriculture has also been hit by the drought, with regional authorities reporting that crops suffered greatly in the last harvest season. The vast majority of quinoa and potato crops, both local staples, are affected, as are oats, used as livestock feed.
The tourism industry also suffered a slump after boats ferrying visitors around the lake became stranded due to receding waters.
“We are extremely concerned especially because the water level is currently falling significantly,” said Jullian Huattamarca, 36, who sells locally made textiles to visitors to Taquile Island.
“We want tourists to come back, especially foreign tourists,” he said.
The Puno region, which encompasses the entire Peruvian side of Lake Titicaca, has long been known as an underdeveloped and marginalized region of the country.
More recently, the economy has been hit by the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic and a wave of social unrest. Puno became the epicenter of demonstrations calling for President Dina Boluarte’s resignation, drawing on outrage that had developed over decades of inequality, allegations of corruption and stagnant living standards.
Huattamarca told CNN that no visitors traveled to the region during the protests. “They were a little afraid to go,” he said.
Huattamarca said that in recent years, especially during the pandemic, many people have left the area.
“They had to do it because they didn’t have enough money for basic needs like food,” he said.
And recent history suggests that the ongoing drought could cause more people to flee their homes, as an earlier drought in 1991 triggered waves of migration as subsistence farming collapsed due to food shortages.
For others, like Charca, the drought is affecting their way of life. Charca belongs to the Uros indigenous group, who live on islands made of dried totora reeds floating in the lake. For centuries the Uros have braided reeds into islands and used them to build buildings and boats. However, Charca is concerned that there are fewer reeds available due to lower water levels.
“It will continue to affect us, there will be no more Totora, the islands are deteriorating, that’s what worries us,” Charca told CNN.
Looking ahead, it’s hard to see any respite.
El Nino is currently taking place, a natural phenomenon characterized by above-average temperatures in the tropical Pacific that can significantly change the weather over South America.
Grinia Avalos, deputy director of climatology at Senamhi, told CNN that these warmer temperatures are expected to last at least until February 2024.
“These conditions will contribute to less rain in the Andean region,” she said.
For Connor Baker, an analyst at the International Crisis Group, the situation requires long-term measures to protect those who rely on the lake.
“While the lake’s fluctuations are linked to climate variability and natural variability, the exacerbating influence of climate change increases the need for sustainable management strategies,” he told CNN.
“Local communities whose livelihoods depend on the lake are particularly at risk, underscoring the urgency of addressing the challenges posed by greater fluctuations in water levels.”