Currently, the percentage of areas with moderate to exceptional drought at the national level is 59.86 percent. These are the states with the most problems.
Neither the ‘rain dance’ nor the visit of Tlaloc were enough to stop the drought in Mexico. Although the return of the rains seemed to be a sign of relief in the face of the water crisis, in several states of the country the outlook is still worrying.
According to the Drought Monitor of the National Water Commission (Conagua), some entities still face severe ‘dehydration’ due to receiving very little rain, resulting in limited supply of the dams.
While the Cutzamala System recorded a slight recovery in its supply levels (with 35.1 percent more rain than usual), states such as Sonora, Chihuahua and Coahuila still suffer from extreme drought conditions.
The outlook looks complicated, since the rainy season still looks distant. Generally, the rains in Mexico are from May to November, so at least a couple of months are missing.
According to data from the Drought Monitor, currently the percentage of areas with moderate to exceptional drought at the national level is 59.86 percent, that is, a slightly lower figure than that recorded on January 31 of this year (60.45 percent).
In its latest report, as of February 15, the Conagua released a list of states that are on red alert, based on its category system, which divides the levels of drought into five areas.
D0 – Abnormally dry
D1 – Moderate drought
D2 – Severe drought
D3 – Extreme drought
D4 – Exceptional drought
States with extreme and exceptional drought
The entities of the country that report an extreme and exceptional drought (D3 and D4), the two highest levels, are the following:
Chihuahua
Sonora
Sinaloa
Durango
Tamaulipas
San Luis Potosí
Querétaro
Michoacán
Hidalgo
Guanajuato
Aguascalientes
Meanwhile, the states that experience an abnormally dry climate, as well as moderate and severe droughts are:
Colima
Chiapas
Mexico City
Guerrero
Jalisco
State of Mexico
Morelos
Nayarit
Nuevo León
Oaxaca
Puebla
Tabasco
Tlaxcala
In the case of the three dams of the Cutzamala System, two of the main ones that make up this system, El Bosque and Villa Victoria, registered a slight recovery in their filling levels, thanks to the rains generated by the cold fronts.
The El Bosque dam went from 58.7 to 58.9 percent of storage, while the Villa Victoria dam rose from 30.2 to 30.5 percent of filling. Meanwhile, the Valle de Bravo dam is at 32 percent of its capacity.
Even so, the Cutzamala is at only 38.6 percent of its capacity, which represents a deficit of 74 percent compared to the historical records. It is its lowest level since the system began operating.
Why is Mexico running out of water?
Mexico and its inhabitants experience the negative effects of the lack of water. In recent years, the central and northern regions of the country have experienced water shortages due to the increase in droughts.
World Bank figures indicate that water availability per capita fell 60 percent in 50 years and the situation will worsen in the coming years.
According to the data of that institution, the average annual per capita availability was 10 thousand cubic meters (m3) in 1960 and it was reduced to 4 thousand in 2012. The estimates indicate that water availability in Mexico will be lower than 3 thousand m3 per inhabitant in 2030.
Source: El Financiero
