Drought scorches 83% of Mexico's territory

A farmer observes a dead cow due to the drought that has affected the state of Chihuahua since last year.JOSE LUIS GONZALEZ / Reuters

The drought scorches Mexico.

A report by the National Water Commission (Conagua) shows that 1,295 municipalities in the country suffer from moderate to severe drought, while another 488 have registered an “abnormally dry” situation.

The institution warns that 83.9% of the national territory is hit by this phenomenon, which has intensified in March, aggravated by the decrease in the percentage of rainfall.

In addition, several states of the country have registered temperatures above 40 degrees, mainly in the normally humid regions of Campeche, Chiapas, Michoacán, Quintana Roo, Veracruz and Yucatán.

The drought hits the northwestern states of the country with greater force, although the main effects are in the regions of Hidalgo, Sinaloa and Zacatecas.

Due to low rainfall and high temperatures, Mexico has registered 51 forest fires in 15 states, affecting a total of 8,643 hectares, including protected regions such as the Papigochi Flora and Fauna Protection Area, in Coahuila, and the Protection Area of Natural Resources of Bajo Río San Juan, shared by Coahuila and Nuevo León.

The attention of the Conagua authorities is focused on the dams and reservoirs that supply water to the Mexicans.

The institution has reported that the Cutzamala reservoir system, which quenches the inhabitants of the capital and the neighboring State of Mexico, has a supply of 46.2% of the liquid, "a figure lower than the historical average for this date. ”.

This reservoir system, which is considered one of the largest in the world, provides 37% of the water consumed in and around Mexico City, a city of more than 21 million inhabitants.

Conagua has also reported that 56 of the 210 main reservoirs in the country have 50% and 75% water, while 16 of them are below 50%.

Only one reservoir remains 100% full.

The Conagua Drought Monitoring reveals that Mexico has registered 26% less rainfall from January 1 to April 4, which puts the capacity of its dams at risk.

Due to this situation, there are communities that already suffer from water shortages.

The Conagua report shows that due to the low storage of the Elías González Chávez reservoir, located in Jalisco, they have had to pump water from nearby lakes and rivers to guarantee supply to more than 200,000 people affected by the drought.

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The high temperatures do not give truce either.

The Conagua report shows that the thermometer has exceeded 40 degrees Celsius in traditionally humid regions such as Chiapas, a state surrounded by forests, but also in Michoacán, Oaxaca, Puebla and Campeche.

The highest temperatures were recorded in Apatzingán, Michoacán, and Del Nayar, Nayarit, with 46.5 degrees Celsius, "surpassing the records for the same period."

In Jilotlán de los Dolores, Michoacán, a new record was set, reaching 46 degrees Celsius, according to the institution's report.

The drought and the shortage of water, which has lasted for the last two years, has generated tensions in regions of the north of the country, such as Chihuahua, where a hundred farmers took control of the La Boquilla dam last September.

The farmers clashed with the National Guard, which deployed officers to the area to regain control of the station, a measure that was justified by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador.

The tension in that area left at least two dead and several wounded, including five soldiers, after a confrontation between farmers and elements of the National Guard.

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