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Bolivia declares state of emergency over worst drought in 25 years

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Lime

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Deforestation and climate change are the contributing causes of this apparently.

President Evo Morales called for local governments to use funds to drill wells and transport water to families and farmers affected by shortages

Bolivia’s government has declared a state of emergency over the worst drought in 25 years, making funds available to alleviate a crisis that has affected families and the agricultural sector.

The vice-ministry of civil defense estimated that the drought has affected 125,000 families and threatened 290,000 hectares (716,605 acres) of agricultural land and 360,000 heads of cattle.

President Evo Morales called on local governments to devote funds and workers to drill wells and transport water to cities in vehicles, with the support of the armed forces, from nearby bodies of water.

“We have to be prepared for the worst,” Morales said at a press conference, adding that the current crisis was an opportunity to “plan large investments” to adapt to the effects of climate change on the country’s water supply.

The national state of emergency comes after 172 of the country’s 339 municipalities declared their own emergencies related to the drought.

Last week, residents of El Alto, near La Paz, briefly held authorities with a local water distribution company hostage to demand the government explain its plans to mitigate the shortage.

The drought has prompted protests in major cities and conflicts between miners and farmers over the use of aquifers.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2016/nov/21/bolivia-drought-state-of-emergency-water-shortages

More scientific explanations here:

Intense Drought Flares, With More to Come

By December, rains are expected to return and provide some relief for Bolivia. El Nino has faded and 2017 shouldn’t be as dry as 2015 or 2016. However, like many regions around the world, the Bolivian highlands are in a multi-year period of drought. And the over-riding factor causing these droughts is not the periodic El Nino, but the longer-term trend of warming that is melting Bolivia’s glaciers and increasing rates of evaporation across its lakes.

In context, the current drought emergency has taken place as global temperatures hit near 1.2 degrees Celsius hotter than 1880s averages. Current and expected future burning of fossil fuels will continue to warm the Earth and add worsening drought stress to places like Bolivia. So this particular emergency water shortage is likely to be just one of many to come. And only an intense effort to reduce fossil fuel emissions can substantially slake the worsening situation for Bolivia and for numerous other drought-affected regions around the world.
https://robertscribbler.com/2016/11/23/climate-change-has-left-bolivia-crippled-by-drought/
 
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