The drought that hits Mexico is a recurring phenomenon that with each visit leaves a trail of emergencies and damage. 84% of the territory suffers from drought in different intensities, aggravated by the lack of rains in recent months, according to the Monitor, the Conagua body that monitors it. Although it was foreseen and the historical evolution of the climate in the country contemplated it, the drought surprised Ermenegildo Martínez, a fisherman from Veracruz who has seen how in the last eight months the lagoon where he fished has dried up. "It was 13 meters deep and now it has barely 10 centimeters left, in less than a week we will have lost it completely," he describes. 1,300 kilometers away, in Sinaloa, the farmer Gumaro López is infected with the fisherman's sorrow.Like Martínez, he will have losses in his production and alert that prices will rise. It already happened in 2011 and 1996, the other two episodes of extreme drought that hit Mexico and from which, it has become clear, not enough has been learned.
The location and its climate make Mexico especially vulnerable to having periods of low rainfall and wet seasons. Surviving the dry season depends on the amount of water that can accumulate during the months that it rains. During 2020, rainfall failed to fully supply all of the system's dams and now, consequently, of the 210 most important dams in Mexico, more than half are below 50% of their capacity. In addition, 61 of them are in critical condition with less than 25% water, especially in the north and center of the country.
Despite the fact that the historically dry Mexican region is used to suffering extreme droughts - 60% of the territory - in Veracruz this year, the phenomenon has also left terrifying scenarios. Ermeregildo Martínez has been a fisherman for more than 20 years and used to work in the Farallón lagoon, a freshwater reserve that fed 200 families who lived from fishing. Eight months ago they began to notice that the drop in the water level was more and more pronounced until not even enough was left to cover the knees of the fishermen. “The drought is very strong, and it is added that the water was looted from the lagoon for the use of the cattlemen and the irrigation of the ranches in the area,” laments Martínez, who once managed to remove five kilos of mojarra that he left 250 pesos a day.
Martínez had seen the level of the lagoon drop on other occasions, especially in the “dry seasons” that occur from September to May.
The last great drought in 2011 caused a famine and a humanitarian emergency in the State of Chihuahua.
At that time, 95% of the country was affected by the phenomenon and almost a quarter of the territory suffered the highest level: exceptional drought.
The most recent numbers are dangerously close with 83.9% of Mexico in drought.
In the municipality of Ecatepec, State of Mexico, Flavio Roblero goes twice a week with his empty jugs to a crossroads with an open outlet, fills it up and returns home. Photo |
Video: Teresa de Miguel
Benjamín Martínez López, researcher at the UNAM Atmosphere Center, explains that how much it rains or stops raining, as well as the duration of droughts, depends on a complex atmospheric system and the relationship between the El Niño and La Niña phenomenon. When the surface water of the eastern Pacific —the one that surrounds the coasts of Mexico— cools, there is no rain on the continent, as is happening right now. This phenomenon is known as Niña. We will have to wait for the masses of warm water in Indonesia to move to the other side of the ocean, warm the surface of the coasts and with the evaporated water rains and hurricanes are formed. "Right now the Girl is receding and in the coming weeks the surface of the water will heat up and it will start to rain," he details.
This cyclical phenomenon determines in the calendar when the wet and dry seasons will arrive and how long they will last. López adds that within these variations there are trends of less rainy or drier times that can last up to 15 years, and that, despite the droughts that Mexico suffers, now average rains are on the rise compared to 20 years ago. In 1996, the worst of the recorded droughts caused incalculable losses in crops, to the point that exports were paralyzed and ranchers sold off their livestock so that they would not die of hunger. Since then, the amount of water that has rained has been increasing. "Climate change is causing more girls to be generated, which translates into more hurricanes and more rains in the region," he points out. Therefore, the water that rains on Mexico should be enough,the problem is in other factors.
José Antonio Benjamín Ordoñez-Díaz, professor at the Monterrey Technological Institute, points out that droughts have always been there, but human action has aggravated their consequences and made water availability worse. Deforestation, the extension of urbanized areas and the transformation of land such as forests or wetlands into fields, have hampered the water retention capacity. "When you cut a tree, you are taking half its weight in water that that ecosystem had," he points out to explain that without vegetation, the water does not infiltrate the soils and evaporates faster. With the increase in temperatures in recent years (in 1985 the average annual temperature was 20.4 degrees, in 2019 it was 22.4), the phenomenon is accelerating. In consecuense,Soils dry out faster and fires are unleashed that devastate vegetation and biodiversity.
The use of water in Mexico - where 76.6% is used for agricultural irrigation, 14% for domestic consumption and the rest for industry and electricity - does not favor the maintenance of access to this resource over time. . Judith Domínguez, a researcher at the Colegio de México and coordinator of the Water Safety Observatory, points to the public management of the resource as another important factor. "We are better prepared with information, but in the end everything is subject to political and spontaneous decisions when they would have to be preventive decisions with technical criteria," he says. “If we know that we cyclically have a drought, we should change crops. For example, in very dry northern states, alfalfa is grown, which requires a lot of water, ”the researcher denounces. In addition,proposes that if a drought is anticipated several months in advance, the use of domestic and agricultural water could be changed to reduce its consumption. "In the end, what international reports say about the water crisis is confirmed: it is a management and governance crisis," he concludes.
The Farallón lagoon, with its cracked brown soil that has flourished as in other lagoons in the country, is a graphic example of this. In the 1940s, there was a shortage of water as now, but at least it was able to feed on the water of the streams that ran down the hills. However, Hurricane Hilda in 1955 filled it to its brim again and thanks to that it was able to maintain good levels over the years. However, the agricultural overexploitation of sugar cane replaced seasonal agriculture, the felling of the vegetation of the hills dried up the streams and the cement of the urbanization invaded the land. Consequently, the lagoon was losing its sources of supply and is now a mirror barely four inches deep.Martínez assures that this water will evaporate in seven days and that it cannot be recovered. "What we are going to do is what we start to think about now that we have nowhere to fish," says the fisherman.
View of the island in the central part of the Cuitzeo lagoon, Michoacán
In northern Mexico, the tragedy repeats itself.
Gumaro López Cuadras has been growing corn and beans for 40 years in the Évora Valley, in the center of the State of Sinaloa.
When it was reported that the levels of the dams had dropped drastically, reaching an average of 18.23% of their capacity on April 15, he implemented an irrigation system that reduces the flow of water that brings him to his field by half. to at least rescue your legume crop, a product that grows well without moisture.
"Hopefully it rains because we are battling it," he says.
"Crops with low water demand are not profitable for the farmer, but just to not leave the plots without sowing we plant them," adds López.
Ranchers are also direct victims of the drought.
Joaquín Arizpe, president of the Regional Cattle Union of Coahuila, narrates that deaths of cows due to famine have already been reported, as occurred in 1996 and 2011. When it does not rain, farmers cannot plant foliage to feed their cows and must replace their diet with a protein supplement.
They must also make them walk more miles to reach the streams or directly load them onto trucks to take them to drink.
With the dams almost empty, the costs increase, and in the worst cases the reces end up dying of starvation.
The fisherman Mariano Tribuna observes the deterioration in the Farallón lagoon in Veracruz.Hector Guerrero
The lack of research to be able to develop technology and prevention plans that avoid the lack of water in the dams is one of the main reasons why Mexico is condemned to repeat its history, according to researcher Martínez López.
"It is essential to understand how our water system works to simulate scenarios and prepare ourselves in case of a dry season," he stresses.
For López, the water that rains in Mexico should be enough if it is stored well to avoid losses in the deteriorated infrastructures.
Also if a distinction was made between gray and black waters, to purify the former and reintroduce them into the cycle for agricultural use.
"Science is an investment, but it ends up paying and returns it to society," he says.
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