Mexico’s drought is so severe you can see the effects from space
Mexico is experiencing one of its most severe and widespread droughts in over a decade. Water levels are so low in some regions that you can see the effects from space.
Bustillos Lagoon in northern Mexico, for example, is at 50% of its typical capacity. The US Geological Survey released images this month from its Landsat satellites showing the shriveled-up lagoon in June compared to its size 6 months earlier in January.
The lagoon’s reduced capacity was deadly for thousands of fish.
Low water levels concentrated pollutants even more reducing water quality and further stressing the fish, Irma de la Peña, head of the Ecology Department in the city of Cuauhtemoc, told CNN in June.
Bustillos Lagoon is a significant water source for the state of Chihuahua and is mainly used to irrigate nearly 20,000 agricultural plots. With limited water, people in Chihuahua have watched their crops and livestock wither.
It’s not just Bustillos Lagoon, though. Over 85% of the country was affected by the drought in May, with some areas having little rainfall since the end of 2022, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
ou can see more images of drought-ridden Mexican lakes in the video below.
The drought, “created a pretty big deficit in both the northwest and the south-central parts of the country in terms of lack of precipitation,” Derek Vollmer, director of Waterscapes at WWF, told Business Insider.
The view from space is bleak, but the images from the ground show an even grimmer reality for the people, plants, and animals coping with the drought.
Some farmers can’t provide adequate water for their livestock, and cows and donkeys have died during the hot and arid months. Other farmers have left the area because the conditions are so severe, rancher Jesus Maria Palacios told Reuters in June.
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